Hm. I'll just finish up the story in this chapter. There might be an epilogue. FINALLY! I'LL BE FINISHED AND I'LL FINALLY BE ABLE TO CONCENTRATE ON BLIND ANGELS! Oh yeah, I'm having a writer's block on that story. So if you have any ideas, tell me please! Thank you! And here you go! The chapter you've all been waiting for!

Chapter

Deep, emotionless, pained eyes stared out of the hazy, snow-covered window. Grey, huge, towering clouds covered the bright blue sky. His breath came out in little puffs of air. It was freezing in here.

But, Shikamaru could care less. He couldn't feel the biting frost. To the contrary, he was curled up on his couch, shirtless and only in shorts. He had been there for days, unmoving. Yes, there were guards outside of his home currently. But today was the day when he could finally be with her.

A nerve struck, and pain immediately overwhelmed his body. Her light, smooth, long blond hair was longed to be sniffed. He missed the feeling of burying his hand in those light strands that always smelled like vanilla. The small, cute, pert nose that he loved to pinch was gone. Those pouty, lips that he longed to kiss once more were out of reach.

But, the one thing he missed the most was those large, endless, sky blue eyes that always made him feel lost inside of her. He missed staring at those large, blue orbs. Sigh, he missed everything about her.

A lone tear dripped down his face. He quickly wiped it away, wishing he could also wipe away the pain too. "My reputation as a man is ruined," he thought sarcastically, his head filled with bitterness.

Outside, a windy storm was blowing. Wind reminded Shikamaru of air. And air reminded Shikamaru of Ino.

Turned out, Ino was stronger than him all along. She was actually probably over 1000 times stronger than him. Because he was too weak, she had to protect him. And she had to die.

"Ugh." Shikamaru curled up even more, his stomach in pain. Why can't Ino just appear out of thin air and everything would just be fine?!

"Ino….."

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"Huh? Did somebody call me?" A sky-blue eyed girl yawned while rubbing her eyes, as she awoke from her slumber. She thought she heard a voice, but she couldn't place where it was from.

"Ugh, Heaven is boooring. And yesterday, Hinata disappeared! Gr, why am I sent to find her?" Ino humphed while she flopped back onto the bed.

Then, her blue eyes saddened. When she arrived at Heaven, she remembered nothing about her life. All her memories, gone. And it pained Ino more than anything.

"Ugh! I have to get out of here. Oh yeah, where am I anyways?" Ino looked around, noting that she was in a room unfamiliar to her.

It was neat and clean. Books were stacked neatly on shelves, the sheets were folded, and there are no signs of clothes on the floor. Then, Ino noticed, that the shelf seemed to be overflowing with books.

"This must be one smart dude," Ino thought as she browsed the titles, surprised as she saw subjects ranging from genjutsu all the way down to ninjutsu.

Then, she heard a thump from down below. A cry of "crap" was heard and then a couple of groans followed.

"Who is causing that entire racket?" She wondered, floating down between the levels.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the half-naked boy in front of her. His back was faced towards her, so she couldn't see his face. He had dark, brown spiky hair that was held up in a ponytail, reminding her of a shape of a pineapple.

A blush arrived to her face. Yeah, she was dead, but that doesn't mean that she had any lack of hormones or anything! And unfortunately, her obsessions over boys hadn't ceased.

However, she hadn't harbored any feelings for anyone yet. Because, for some reason, she felt like someone already has her love for some reason.

"I want to find the person, who I fell in love with." She had told her friends that, acting all determined and confident. But what if she never did find him? What if she will never ever find him?

Then, the boy turned.

She stared in fascination as she took in his deep brown, almost black, eyes. He had a chiseled chest, which made the blood rush up to her face, and he was well sculpted.

She walked forward, knowing that he wouldn't be able to see or hear her. But she longed to be seen, however, she couldn't place why.

Ino sat down as he sat there, his eyes pained while he stared down. She reached up to teach his cheek, but it went right through him like thin air.

"Why does my heart ache so much?" She looked up at him with longing eyes, as she wished to be heard, to be seen, and to be answered.

Then, his deep chocolate eyes turned up and peered into hers. Her heart started to flutter, hoping that he would be able to see her. But as he reached up to touch her, disappointment went across her face. He couldn't see her.

A frustrated sigh came out of the boy, as he clutched his head in agony. Then, he whispered,

"Ino."

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Shikamaru thought he was hallucinating. At first, he imagined peering into those sparkling sky blue eyes once more. However, disappointment had clouded him as his hand went through thin air. But for some reason, the eyes did not disappear.

He reached up once more to be sure. This time, he was positive that he was dreaming. Or else, he wouldn't be feeling warm skin and staring into her eyes.

"Shika-kun? Daijobu?" She had reached up to cup his cheek, and he was positive that it was real. But he pinched himself to be sure.

"Ow!" he yelped. Yeah. He wasn't hallucinating.

"Mou Shika! Don't pinch yourself!" She scolded as her eyes showed clear annoyance.

But suddenly, she found herself to be engulfed in a warm, tight hug. "Shika-kun?"

"Please don't tell me I'm dreaming. Because if I am, I swear, I'm going to start crying." He pulled back again, his hands all over, making sure that she was real.

Ino sat patiently as the fact registered into his mind. She was alive, she is not dead. She is right here in front of him. Yeah, uh, why does it sound so unbelievable?

"Oh my f***** god," He shook his head back and forth, tears building up in his eyes. A light swat came to his head.

"Oh, so I come back from heaven, and all you do is sit there and swear your head off!" Ino exaggerated. "Maybe I should just go back."

Shikamaru's brown eyes flashed, and then Ino felt herself falling forwards. The back of her head hit his chest, and she found herself in a tight grip.

"Shika-ku-?" She didn't have time to speak, for he immediately placed his lips onto hers.

It was passionate, probably the most passionate out of all of the kisses he had ever given her. He frantically explored her mouth, almost as if worrying that she would disappear once more. Ino opened her eyes when she felt a drop of water on her nose, to realize the tears coming down his face.

She pulled back, earning a small groan from the boy. But she pulled him back into her arms, her head in the crook of his neck. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Ino sat there, waiting for him to get a hold of himself. Eventually, his sobs turned into little sniffles.

"Women are so troublesome." At that statement, a vein popped in Ino's forehead. But he kept on going. "Do you know how much frickin pain you've put me through?! I was almost on the verge of suicide."

"And worst of all, do you know how much I lo-, ah never mind."

"What? Tell me!" Ino demanded.

Then, he mumbled something incoherent. "Repeat that again?"

"I, mumble, you……"

"Speak louder!"

"I LOVE YOU YOU STUPID WOMAN!!!!!"

Shikamaru panted, his breathing in little short breaths. Immediately, a red flush went up from his neck all the way to the top of his face. His eyes suddenly found the floor to be very interesting.

The tension kept on building up inside of him as the silence went on. What if she rejected him? What if she hated him because he was too weak? What if-

"I love you too." He looked up, seeing the usually loud blond blushing. Alright, I guess it would be embarrassing, having to say it twice.

His heart skipped a beat. Shikamaru knew that he had found the girl that he wanted to live with for the rest of his life, until the day that he died.

Shikamaru had never thought that he would find out what the feeling love was. But that was all that his heart was feeling now. Shikamaru lowered his head as brown met blue.

He leaned in slowly and closed his eyes. Ino closed her eyes as she leaned in too. They peered at one another before their lips touched softly. A tear slipped out of Ino's eye. Finally, she had found the prince charming that she had been waiting for since she was five years old. Finally, she knew what it felt to be loved.

"Aishiteru."

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Well here you go peoples, another happy ending. AND THAT'S FINAL! Jk, jk. Sasuke and Sakura and Neji and Tenten are my two favorites, so I wouldn't leave them out. Well, hope you like this!