Stand by Me

Chapter 21 - With Me

''I want you to know, with everything I won't let this go! These words are my heart and soul...I'll hold on to the moment you know, as bleed my heart out to show - and I won't let go!''

Ino, Sakura and surprisingly, Tenten and Hinata were all in her small apartment. She had no idea where Sasuke was at the moment. He'd left Tsunade's office with Naruto long before her and when she returned, the girls were waiting her out. She'd never been especially close to either Hinata or Tenten. She'd been on missions with Hinata, but never with Tenten, not that she disliked the girl, quite the opposite, she'd healed Tenten a number of time and she'd found the girl to be kind of funny, she'd enjoyed their short conversations, up until this one. More on that later.

''Ino, tell me what happened in Konoha?'' it had been bothering Sakura, though she hadn't had a chance to ask anyone as of yet.

Ino nodded and fell in to the story. ''Tsunade had been in communication with my dad since the war ended, though of course, she was assumed to be dead. She'd told him to wait it out since they needed more information on how Madara planned to move. The day that Konoha was attacked, a group of Jounin disappeared with the Shadows. Initially my dad had assumed it was Tsunade, but why would she only rescue a handful of Jounin?''

''She wouldn't.'' Sakura answered immediately.

''Exactly. So, anyway, just at the last minute Katsuya appeared and she told us to jump into her body, as in into,'' Ino shivered, ''No offence to Katsuya, but it was disgusting. Many of us made it inside though, and she began to glow with chakra as she shielded us from the explosions...we still heard it though, the screams of those who didn't make it. Its not something we like to remember. When it was done, Tsunade reversed-summoned us here. And that's it, I guess.''

''What about those Jounin?''

''Tsunade has dispatched a team to find them though, no one has said it but...we're assuming they've betrayed Konoha.''

Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her head.

''We can't actually tell now who left and who died. So we can't assume anything yet, but if the team finds out what we fear, they'll officially be branded traitors to Konoha.''

Fuck, Sakura hadn't heard anything about this, she hadn't expected it either. The thought of anyone betraying Konoha seemed...impossible. All its ninja were loyal. Jounin? Kami. She just couldn't believe it.

''Now that that's done, can we just all acknowledge the elephant in the room,'' Tenten said from her spot, leaning against the wall. Here we go..

''Or, rather the 800 pound gorilla.''

''What?'' Sakura asked, frowning.

''I, for one, think its pretty obvious.''

Ino rolled her eyes, she of course, knew exactly what Tenten was referring to and Hinata's face was on fire. So they'd obviously discussed this.

''Usually, I'm all for giving people privacy, but there's not much to do and I'm bored, so - are you fucking Uchiha Sasuke?''

Sakura's jaw dropped and a small blush appeared on her face. ''A-Am I WHAT?!''

''Oh, god, forehead, stop acting like such a prude. Answer the question. Are you and Sasuke-kun doing the dirty?'' Ino waited expectantly for an answer and everyone in the room, including Hinata, leaned forward.

''I, uh-''

''Oh my god, she is.'' Tenten said, awed by the revelation.

''Forehead! You let him deflower you!''

''Ino! PIG! Shut the hell up!''

''Relax, Sakura. We're all gonna be doing someone at some point.''

Sakura turned on Tenten, ''Enlighten me.''

''Who me? Neji and I have been doing it since before the war.''

Hinata seemed to choke on her own spit and Ino slapped her back a few times.

''And I know Ino and Inuzuka have been spanking the metaphorical monkey.''

Ino groaned. ''No-such-luck. Kiba is being especially annoying. I mean, we've kissed a few times, but he always stops before things get heavy, and then he says its a mistake, can you believe it?''

''K-Kiba-kun said that you...um,'' Hinata stopped and looked down at her hands.

''That I...? What?'' Ino pressed.

''Really h-hurt him.''

Ino pursed her lips. ''He really needs to get over that.''

Sakura wanted to ask more but Ino turned back to her, ''So how'd it happen?''

Sakura groaned. ''Ino, no.'' she whined.

''Come on, forehead. We don't get girls time often, and when we do, we get to speak about sex. So spill it.''

''Ino, this is personal.''

''that's the point.'' Tenten said with an enthusiastic nod.

''Im...not ready to talk about it yet.''

''You guys have been staying together forever.'' Ino nagged.

''We only did it last night.'' Sakura confessed.

The room fell silent. ''Sakura, oh fuck, are you ok? How are you doing?''

''Kami, Ino. I'm fine, more than. I have to make dinner, so please.''

Sensing her embarrassment, they left with a few snickers and Sakura, very relieved, went to make dinner.

x-x-x-x-

Sasuke entered Sakura's apartment, and the smell of soap hit him, clean and fresh in the air.

Sakura was sitting on the bed, rubbing a towel through her hair.

''I, ah...wasn't sure if you would be back...there's some dinner in the fridge...'' she said quickly, nervously.

Sasuke nodded and entered the kitchen, he ate the meal quickly and took a quick shower. He mulled over Sakura's behaviour. She'd been quiet since his admission about Orochimaru. She hadn't looked at him since and that bothered him severely for some reason.

Sasuke sighed and dried off before he dressed and stepped back into the room. He watched the lump of her body beneath the blankets until they moved.

''Are you coming to bed?'' she asked, turning to look at him before she turned red. ''Or, uh, you don't have to...you can sleep on the couch. Whatever works.'' she quickly turned away. Was that what she was worried about now? Sasuke sighed, shaking his head and eyed the couch. Not happening.

Sasuke lifted the blankets and got into the bed, lying down on his back. Sakura turned around to face him.

''I won't let him get you,'' she said so softly he hoped he'd imagined it.

''Sakura-''

''Don't. No 'Sakura this, Sakura that'. Ok, I'm not letting him get you.'' she scooched closer, pressing her forehead against his arm and curled into herself. After a moment he lifted his arm and pulled her into his side. Sakura was tense for a second before she relaxed into him. She pressed her lips to his chest before she dropped her head onto it and soon, she drifted off to sleep.

x-x-x-x-

Shikamaru knocked twice on the Sand-nins' door. A second later, Gaara opened it and stepped aside to let him in.

''Ah, Shikamaru.'' Kankuro greeted, looking up from tweaking his puppet.

''I've just come from the Hokage, we're all clear. Though, I have a question. How pissed off are you?'' Shikamaru asked, taking a seat on the floor.

''Are you kidding?'' Kankuro asked, his eyes narrowed. ''I'll have his fucking head.''

''Good because I don't think I can just let this go.''

''What do you mean?'' Gaara asked, moving away from his spot by the window.

''I didn't mention this to the Hokage, but I want to fuck him over. That is, only if you guys are in.''

''You don't have to ask me.'' Kankuro told Shikamaru, beginning to pack his puppets away.

''What did you have in mind?''

Shikamaru took a small black bag from his pouch. Inside were small red pills, only a bit bigger than your average soldier pill.

''Chakra shots. Made by our Akimichi clan.'' Shikamaru explained. ''Not only are we getting Temari out, but were also letting all his other sacrifices out. This,'' he held up the pill, ''will give them an unbelievable rush of chakra no matter how malnourished or dehydrated they are.''

''So, we're letting them all out?'' Kankuro smirked slowly. ''That's gonna set him back a fuckload.''

Shikamaru nodded.

''Suppose we do this, what about time frame, how many soldiers will we be facing, our numbers, have you considered all of this?'' Gaara asked.

Shikamaru nodded. ''Your absolute defense will give us the time we need. It will have to be an in - out thing. If you use your sand to create an impenetrable wall, while the three of is free the sacrifices and escape, it should work. If you created it with the utmost density, it should take them a while to get through it, in that time, we can escape through the tunnel system. Considering the structure of Konoha now, Sakura drew a map of the idea of how Konoha has been rebuilt. From there we'll be able to escape through the forest of death, I'm hoping you guys still have a general idea of what it looks like?''

Gaara and Kankuro nodded. ''More or less.'' the puppet-user replied.

''Good. Gaara, I understand you have an a few instant kill abilities?''

''Ah,''

''How many of one can you do at the same time?'' Shikamaru asked.

''If its something like Desert Coffin, one. I can use Sand Hail on a large spectrum of enemies, its usually used as a distraction but if I manipulate the structure of the technique, I can create bullets. Its an undodgeable technique with a high success rate.''

''That will work out just fine. From the information Sasuke gave me, we should aim every attack to be a quick one-hit-kill. Can you guys manage that?''

''Of course.'' Kankuro answered.

''On our approach, Gaara will take the lead, and Kankuro will cover the rear. I will be taking out odd enemies. Once we enter the ANBU cells, Gaara will take the rear while both Kankuro and I will be taking the front until we reach the interrogation cells.''

''When do we leave?'' Gaara asked.

''Immediately. I'd prefer we get this done tonight.''

''Then lets get this show on the road.''

x-x-x-x-

Sakura opened her eyes. The room was still dark. Sakura was on her back, Sasuke's heavy arm over her chest, his leg thrown over her thighs...and...oh Kami, he had a massive erection laid over her hip. Ok, don't think about that. She reminded herself that she is a medical professional, and men regularly woke up with erections, she knew this, and that the excitement she was feeling was merely hormones. A little voice reminded her that yes, that was the point. Hormones. Being aroused was what it was all about.

Oh, fuck, Sakura! Calm down! He's asleep you pervert!

She turned her head to Sasuke, he had a peaceful expression on his face, totally relaxed in his sleep. Too cute. She grinned like an idiot, suddenly feeling happy despite her - and his - problem downstairs.

''Stop staring at me.'' he mumbled, his expression unchanged.

''Im gazing.'' she corrected with a giggle.

''Same thing, its creepy.''

Sakura huffed and turned to him, Sasuke groaned and scowled, sitting up suddenly.

''Im going to go take a shower,''

''Wait I wa-'' Sakura cut off, unable to actually ask him. Sasuke was staring at her, waiting for her to continue.

His eyes held no clue of what she wanted. Kami, was he that dense?

''What is it, Sakura?'' he asked impatiently.

Sakura's eyes flipped to the tent in the blankets before she looked away.

Sasuke cleared his throat. ''Im going to shower.'' he was up and into the bathroom in the next second, the door clicking shut with finality.

Sakura eyed the small clock. 4am. So early, but she couldn't focus. Sasuke didn't want to do it with her again. He'd made the pretty obvious. He was probably in there taking care of it himself. Had he hated their first time together that much.

Sakura felt her cheeks wet, she reached up. She was crying? What the hell? She began to furiously wipe at the tears but the wouldn't stop. Eventually she crawled under the blankets and crawled into herself, crying soundlessly as the rejection squeezed her heart painfully. After everything she'd done for him, after she'd given him her first time so willingly...but maybe...she just didn't please him sexually, although she was sure he'd finished that night. (luckily the anti-contraception Jutsu that was required of medics - for their importance during times of war - was still active, it stayed active for six months)

The only thought that kept plaguing her was the fact that he would rather help himself than be with her.

x-x-x-x-

Sasuke stared down at his problem. This had become a more frequent problem since the war ended, or more accurately since Sakura had moved in with him, even more so after what they'd done, he'd become...Naruto! Fuck, sex was on his mind permanently! He just had to force his eyes away from her, lest she knew what was on his mind. He'd woken up twice during the night with this very problem pressed against her, whenever he'd rolled away, the slightest touch made him want to bury himself inside of her, but he couldn't just take her. She'd of course noticed his problem just now, and fuck hadn't that been mortifying. She just couldn't get her eyes away from it quick enough. Sasuke got into the ice cold shower. That would just solve his problem in no time. And it did. He dried off and dressed again, stepping out of the bathroom, his eyes landed on her form. Curled in on itself. Guilt swarmed in him, guilt, fuck, what was happening to him?

Sasuke sighed inaudibly and crawled back into bed. Sakura turned away from him and a flash and he frowned, pulling her to him but she fought him.

''Whats wrong with me?'' she snapped, sitting up but not facing him.

''Sakura-'' Ok, not what he expected.

''Answer me.'' she demanded.

''I don't know what you mean...''

''Oh that's brilliant, Sasuke. You're fine with me laying at your side, but when its anything else you'd rather take care of it yourself.''

''Excuse me?'' To say he was confused would be an understatement.

''Is there something wrong with me? Clearly. Because you'd rather take care of the problem than letting me, um,'' she lost her steam and looked away, ''do it.''

''What the fuck are you talking about?'' he was angry now, Sasuke hated beating around the bush, he enjoyed being up front and bluntness more than anything in conversation.

Sakura stared at him, disbelief on her face and then she fell back, head hitting the pillow as she laughed, he wasn't sure if she was crying or was crying from laughing so hard but she scowled and grabbed her shoulders. ''Sakura-''

''Why are you touching yourself while I'm in bed waiting for you?'' she asked and then her eyes widened, ''That didn't come out right, what I mean is, why are you, uh, jerking off?'' she paused again, ''Oh fuck, that didn't sound right either. Can we just sleep and I'll bring it up again during daylight hours?''

Sasuke, realization dawning on him, nodded slowly and pulled Sakura into his side again.

She feel asleep fairly quickly and Sasuke was left to ponder her ramblings. Basically, she was pissed - er, upset about...what? She thought he was in the bathroom masturbating. Fuck. Ok. Not that it had much to do with her, or maybe it did, he hadn't decided yet, but why was she so upset? If he wanted to do...that, he damn well could, but probably not something the girl you were...with wanted to know. Was that what it was? Was he with Sakura? Fuck. His entire body tensed as he realized that was the deduction Sakura would have made, hell that any normal person would make. Then again, Sakura wasn't putting any pressure on him, she'd quickly corrected himself and given him the choice not to share the bed with her, and he'd chosen to. He couldn't honestly say he wanted this kind of attachment, but would that mean he'd have to give her up? He knew he wanted her, wanted to protect her on a level he would consider unnatural, and fuck, he'd admit how much it scared him...how important she'd become to him, she was someone he'd considered -back in Konoha- a nuisance yes, but one of his few friends. Which only consisted of her, Naruto and yes, Kakashi. But after he'd left Konoha, left them behind, he'd grown accustomed to not letting anyone close enough to earn that title. It was only after the war that he'd realized how quickly they'd broke down the barriers and crawled back into those old reserved spots, but Sakura had changed in so many ways. She wasn't a girl anymore, she'd matured and she could hold her own against him (mostly). And as if by some cruel fate of nature, his body had the most unbelievable reaction to her. First it had been the realization that he needed her, and so he'd taken her to Kalika. Then, he'd followed her under the rouge that he was checking on the Jutsu that Kalika used, but really he was watching her, how she'd changed, how she spoke. He'd really always seen her as the 13-year old that had prayed for his attention. But she wasn't.

Then, he'd come into contact with her, seen her up close with his own his eyes. So broken, tortured by Tobi's men. Bloody and ruined. He'd felt anger, the need to avenge rising up once more, but he'd curbed it. This was Sakura. Not anyone he loved, not someone important that he needed to go that far for. Fuck, he was in a permanent denail over everything. He'd met her anger for him, for leaving, for everything he did. She was hurt by his actions yes, but she channeled it to him in anger and sarcasm. Of course it was around that time that his hormones had decided to make their unwelcome appearance. If it wasn't nightmares, it was sexual dreams about her. He'd woken up with a hard-on more than often, ok - every morning since she'd moved in. Usually they had been few and far in between. When it did happen, Karin would leer at him with sex eyes and he would ignore her, any 'accidental' touch or her part would on serve to make his thoughts of anything remotely sexual die down, where as with Sakura it made it twitch with a need to find relief, and for her to give it to him.

Though, up until before the war ended, sex had been something that he'd consider very low on the list, somewhere below returning to Konoha and above kissing Na- yeah he wasn't going into that.

He'd only had a few encounters with sex in his life, yes, he'd learned about in the school like all the other prospective Shinobi at the time. While the girls had been blushing and giggling and the guys had been boasting and grinning at the thoughts, Sasuke - had been bored. Sex hadn't sounded appealing at the age of 11. Once he'd hit 13, he'd found Kakashi's orange book lying open, and on the specific page the main character was having one of his many sexcapades. Sasuke, admittedly, had read the scene from start to finish, it had been written in expert detail, but Sasuke doubted that Jiraiya had ever had this much experience. Though, to tell the truth, the scene was appealing. Until, Kakashi had cleared his throat and offered to lend the book to his 13-year-old student. Sasuke declined. Within 12 months, he'd had his next encounter. He'd walked into Orochimaru's meeting chamber, the snake sannin had not noticed his presence, he'd been too immersed on the woman beneath him. Sasuke had seen her before, she was an Oto villager, worked in the small drug store. She'd seemed to be enjoying herself, he couldn't imagine why though...at the rate she was bleeding she wouldve been dead soon. Orochimaru's harsh grunts and pants had filled his ears as he slammed into her roughly and Sasuke had practically ran from the room, needing fresh air. He'd fallen to his knees and emptied his stomach until all the was left was dry leaves. Kabuto found him outside, and had laughed and told him that that was what sex was. Although Sasuke had strongly doubted that, he'd decided he wouldn't face that soon, it didn't matter much since he was resigned to die during his fight with Itachi. Things didn't turn out that way and Karin had propositioned him more than he wanted to remember.

The day Sakura had been captured, watching her sleep had for some reason made him feel...raw. Alone. When she'd thrown herself at him, held him in her arms, her warmth had flooded around him and when she retreated - he needed more. Before he could stop himself, he'd kissed her, but of course, being who he was, he'd pushed her away, and as soon as she left he'd hated himself for it, and for a while he'd held himself back, until he'd thought 'screw it', and went after her. A small part of his mind had warned him that she'd be naked. He'd still thrown the door open, she'd been shocked and had tripped and he'd moved without thinking. Once he'd realized the towel had dropped, it had been an effort to keep his eyes up, but he needed to see her, she the difference in what he knew to what was in front of him. She'd been so different. So...appealing. The need to be with her had hitten him strongly and he had to get out of there; needed space to think.

She'd been gone in the next second, and despite Naruto's presence the raw feeling had returned. He wasn't sure how he felt about Itachi telling him Tobi was going to marry her, but he knew it was more than anger. Far more.

He'd forced Karin to sneak both him and Naruto in, they stood during the ceremony. He'd been the one who'd lectured Naruto before-hand, to keep himself under control no matter what happened, they didn't need a scene. Instead, when Tobi had kissed Sakura, it was Naruto holding him back. If it wasn't for the blonde, Sasuke wouldve launched himself forward without thinking. The disgust in her eyes was the thing that had Naruto clenching his wrist painfully until he relaxed. Sasuke had waited in the bathroom, knowing the it was where Sakura usually retreated to, and she had come and he found himself holding her, and when he kissed her, he just couldn't get enough, he needed her, he hadn't needed anything but revenge in his life and this was something so different. Seeing Tobi touch her though, put his present problem into prospective. Seeing her with someone else was something he couldn't deal with. Losing her was something he didn't want, and yet saying they were together made him feel trapped. Actually pitting a label on it, scared him, because that made her something tangible...something that could be taken from him.

Sasuke sighed and looked down at her. She looked peaceful enough he shifted beneath her and she frowned, pushing herself closer and snuggling into his side unconsciously. Even if her soul probably want present, her body still seeked some kind of comfort from him. Could he really believe it? That she loved him? She'd confessed it to him years ago. That she loved him more than anything and that if he'd stayed, she would make everyday more bareable. He'd disregarded it as the ramblings of a desperate fangirl that didn't want him to leave, and yes on some levels she was that, but...she was also his friend at that stage and he knew she meant what she'd said, but surely their time apart had changed or at least made what she'd felt less. He couldn't believe it when she'd told Naruto that she still felt that way about him because 1. He was seriously fucked up, who could love him? and 2. She couldn't still feel that way, after everything he'd done. For fucks sake, he'd tried to kill her and succeeded and she'd known about it!

Sakura, who's the most open book of a person her knew, was either a complete mystery or just stupid and despite that he couldn't leave her alone. And with that thought, he drifted off.

x-x-x-x-

''Where have you been?'' Sakura asked, hands on her hips, tone exasperated. Briefly, she wondered how she'd become so relaxed around him.

Itachi shrugged, smirking, that only pissed her off more. ''I've been dodging Deidara for a while and Kami, he's persistent! What the hell does he want?!''

''I just wanted to give you some space after you had a blanket party with my little brother.''

Sakura's jaw dropped, closed and opened again - like a fish. ''Did you...just say 'blanket party'?''

''Saying you received swollen goods just seemed to blunt and crude, not really my style.'' and then he laughed, the humor was lost of Sakura as she desperately searched for something to throw at his head.

''Or, maybe just a classic, did you guys 'get it on'?'' he made quotation marks using his fingers and then chuckled at the joke.

Sakura let out a growl. ''Im- Im! Ugh!''

Suddenly, it dawned on her that Itachi was teasing her, but he was so carefree.

''I decided to spice up your dreams since Sasuke,'' he cleared his throat awkwardly.

''Sasuke, what?''

''He's dreaming some stuff worthy of Jiraiya's Icha Icha.''

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. ''Oh...''

''Not sure if a female lead with pink hair would appeal to the fans.'' Itachi mused and Sakura glared, not dignifying that with an answer, and then what he'd said dawned on her. ''He's dreaming about me?'' her cheeks flamed.

Itachi smirked, ''Of course, was I right or not?''

''You were right I guess. He...feels something for me, though I'm not sure what, anyway what's up with you?''

Itachi lifted an eyebrow in question.

''You're...acting different.''

He nodded. ''Sasuke's happy, in a way, or getting there. He's come a long way, and I'm proud of him. I told him that no matter what he decided, that I would love him forever and him not choosing Tobi, choosing to find a way out of the darkness, makes me know there's hope for him, yet.''

Sakura nodded and she felt that familiar pull.

''Go easy on him, this is all new to him.'' was Itachi's passing words as she felt herself get sucked back.

She didn't open her eyes but the first thing she noticed was movement. Sasuke was moving or more accurately, he was rubbing his erection against her. Rubbing off against her.

''Sasuke.'' she snapped. He froze. So, he was awake.

''...''

''Well? Say something, since clearly you can jerk off, and rub off against me, but you won't have sex with me?''

Sasuke had stopped breathing next to her.

''Sasuke-'' she started, cutting off and taking a deep breath. ''So...its me? You don't want me?'' she whispered.

''Fuck, Sakura that's a bit dramatic-''

''Dramatic? Dramatic! You haven't seen dramatic and-'' she stopped again, because it dawned on her that he hadn't denied it.

''Why are you doing this?'' she sat up and buried her face into her hands. ''Why give me hope at all?''

''Sakura...'' she felt him sit up, ''Look at me.''

''Fuck you.'' she mumbled.

''I'd like you to, but look at me first.''

Sakura turned to glare at him. ''You want me to fuck you? You think that's what I want?! You think this is a joke?''

Sasuke sighed, clearly frustrated now. ''Fuck, Sakura, tell me what you want then?! Because I'm out of ideas here.''

''Oh, are helping yourself rank higher than I do. Man, your just full of great ideas.''

''I didn't fucking masturbate, Sakura! Would you stop assuming shit and listen to me!''

She snapped her mouth shit. So this is what Itachi meant. Sakura sighed, of course the older Uchiha was right, this was new to Sasuke. Wow didn't she feel like a bitch.

''Sasuke?''

He glared at her.

''Do you want to...do it with me or someone else?''

He nodded. ''You.''

''Do you want to make love right now?''

Sasuke frowned slightly, make love? Was that what she wanted?

''I do.'' he said slowly.

Sakura pulled her shirt off, revealing a pale green bra and white panties, yes she knew she hadn't really 'dressed for success' but Sasuke didn't seem to mind. He was silent for a second. ''I want you, Sakura.''

She stared at him and then nodded, Sasuke was on her in the next second, his mouth claiming hers.

x-x-x-x-

Shikamaru, Gaara and Kankuro circled Konoha after sunrise. They entered through the Forest of Death and to their luck, none of Madara's Shadows werent anywhere near the forest so they used a few hours to test the boundaries, to see how far they could travel into the village. Turns out they we're only guarded the village in itself, not the bordering training grounds. Which worked out just fine for Shikamaru. They stayed within in confines of the forest for they day and when the sun set, they moved.

They stuck to the shadows as they entered the village, masking they're signatures completely. They made they're way to the ANBU holding cells. The interrogation cells were on the third level down. Two guards were stationed at the doors and Gaara make quick work of them, using Desert Coffin to take them out. They opened the door and right off, three were inside. Shikamaru caught them in Kageyose no Jutsu, and while Gaara used a rain of sand bullets on one of them, Kankuro used his puppet to trap the Shadow and hit him with multiple swords while Shikamaru killed the last one with several tendrils of stabbing shadows. They moved on quickly, Gaara smashed through the thick doors with a powerful wave of sand before they moved down the stairs. Gaara took the rear as planned. They ignored the first two floors and headed straight down. They heard Gaara taking out Shadows with his Sand Hail, they heard the Shadows drop. They made to the third floor and when Shikamaru kicked the door open, they were met with one Shadow. He tossed Kankuro the bag of medicine and drew a kunai, leaping into the fight. His attack was blocked and he swung another, and in a familiar movement, it was blocked. Kankuro went past as Gaara created the wall. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he swung another attack and it too was blocked, he jumped back as a shadown jutsu emerged from his enemy. He evaded it, but no more attacks came.

They stood there in silence, it seemed to drag out until Shikamaru's anger and disbelief surfaced.

''...Dad?''

''I know what I didn't have, so I won't let this go...cause its true - I Am Nothing Without You.''

well another chapter! Review!

Zana-Lee

xoxo