Shikamaru sighed heavily as he stepped out of the door of the official building where he assisted Naruto with his daily duties, stretching his arms and arching his back to stretch his sore muscles. Jeez… Work, work, work… Always such a drag, he whined silently as he cracked his eyes open and glanced down the road into the village. It was the late afternoon, and the sky was beginning to glow golden as the sun drifted closer to the horizon. Along the street, the civilians and ninja alike strolled along conducting their business among the many buildings slowly turning gold with the setting sun. The fading sunlight reflected off the still colorful leaves, making the street almost seem to glow. The air was crisp and cool with the autumn breeze, ruffling his clothes as he stood there admiring the view. It's peaceful… But how long will it last? He wondered with a forlorn sigh as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and began the trek home.

It's been over a month since Ayumi's kidnapping… I really thought they would have made their move by now. The entire village seems like it's holding its breath, waiting for the moment that the storm hits us at last… That's exactly what it was, the calm before the storm, but he had never expected it to be so long. What could he be waiting for? He wondered, and the fact that he had no answers unsettled him deeply. We're prepared, but how prepared are we? At the end of the day, when it all goes down, will we truly be ready?

He didn't know.

When he finally pulled his mind from the dismal thoughts, he found that his feet had carried him the opposite way from home.

"Jeez, since I wasn't paying attention, I ended up making my trip even longer. What a drag," he groaned as he looked around with a scowl. His eyes landed on a familiar brightly colored building, and a smile slowly crept over the dissatisfied look on his face. "Well, since I'm here…" he mused with a smirk before he crossed the street and walked into Yamanaka Flowers. The little bell tinkled happily to signal his arrival into the shop, and it wasn't long after when he heard the furious shuffling of Ino's feet from the back of the store.

"I'll be right wi- Oh! Hello, Shikamaru!" she cried brightly as she turned the corner. Wiping her soil-covered hands off on her gardening apron, she approached him with a wide smile. "Here to get some flowers for Ayumi?" she asked knowingly, causing his cheeks to grow slightly hot from embarrassment. "Not to worry!" she chimed without waiting for an answer and spun on her heels, her long ponytail of blonde hair nearly striking him in the face with the dramatic whirl. His eyes slightly wide from the near-blow, he followed the cheerful gardener down the aisles to the bouquets of flowers displayed along one wall. After pausing and pondering her wares for a moment, she grinned and grabbed a particular arrangement before turning and holding it out to him confidently. "This one!"

"Are you sure? Shouldn't I get her, like, roses or something?" he frowned down at the definitely-not-roses in doubt. He grimaced as she abruptly shoved her finger in his face with a mad expression.

"Excuse me, but who is the florist here? Really, Shikamaru, it's a wonder that you were able to woo any woman," she huffed and rolled her eyes before straightening up with a smile. "Now, take that on to Ayumi. As payment, I just want you to keep being your happy self," she grinned. When he raised his eyebrows in confusion, she giggled loudly. "Seriously, Shikamaru, you are one dumb smart person. Everyone can see that you've the happiest you've ever been with Ayumi!" she teased. When she spelled it out for him, he supposed that it was pretty true. I feel better than I have in a long time… Even with the threat of that psychopath over my head, I still feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders… Is it really because of her? He wondered with a glance down at the flowers in his hands. As he did, he could not keep from thinking of her, her in all her beauty and kindness, and that brought a smile to his face- that Ino immediately noticed. "Now get outta here!" she laughed and shoved him slightly. "She should be heading to your house with Shikadai soon, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm leaving," he chuckled as he turned around and briskly headed out the door, the bell jingling behind him as he strolled down the street with the flowers in his hand. Though his head was filled with thoughts of his beloved teacher, he managed to find his way home without getting lost again.

He reached up with a hand as he walked inside to crack his neck, the soreness in his muscles having settled back in. "Man, I'm tired," he yawned as he shuffled over to the couch and set the bouquet of flowers on the coffee table before unceremoniously flopping face-first into the cushiony furniture. I just wanna rest my eyes for a second… he thought as he rolled onto his back with a small sigh, tucking his arm under the back of his head as his eyes drifted shut. The exhaustion from a hard day's work had quickly caught up to him, and within minutes he could feel himself drifting off to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in the grass with a sky of green leaves above him, with shards of sunlight streaming through the gaps to bathe him in soft golden light. The grass was soft beneath his fingers as he curled them, digging up the rich soil. To the normal person, it would be a serene, calming atmosphere, but all he felt was the cold feeling of dread seeping into every cell of his body.

He had been here too many times; he knew that it would end badly.

The question was how.

Not having much choice, he forced himself into a sitting position and looked around with mild apprehension. Though normally his dreams were stained with blood, the scene around him looked pristine and pure, no different than the forests of his home that he was so used to. That was more unsettling than the normal stock of gruesome battlegrounds filled with bloody carnage. Unsure of what he would find, he rose to his feet. Off to the side was a small path, and since it was his only course of action, he allowed his feet to carry him into the dark of the woods.

As he strode deeper into the forest, his apprehension grew exponentially. By now, something should have gone wrong; he should have seen something, but it was just the green all around him, with the birds twittering in the trees. The peace scared him more than the chaos. "Man, isn't that twisted," he smiled sarcastically as he realized how messed up in the head he was. He stopped on the path with a deep sigh, squatting down and assuming his signature thinking position. Really, he wasn't thinking; the familiar gesture calmed him slightly and cleared his mind clouded by fear and doubt.

I have nothing to be afraid of, he told himself firmly. Somehow that shook him to his core, and he fell back on his behind on the path as he suddenly began to shake. "Whoa…" he muttered as he held up his quivering hands. "You have nothing to be afraid of," he reminded himself aloud, closing his eyes tight. You are in control of the situation now. Not him. It's not going to be like last time, he swore. He opened his eyes again, drinking in the emerald landscape all around him, the birds singing cheerfully among the leaves, the pervading aura of peace.

"This is the future I want," he whispered, and he felt a tear roll down his cheek when he discovered that he had never, ever wanted something so badly.

Suddenly he was awake, and he wasn't staring out into the quiet woods but rather the stiff ceiling of his home. The room had grown quite dark, indicating that he had been asleep for quite some time. With a long groan, he reached up to rub the back of his neck, disappointed to learn that he was still achy. I'm just getting old. What a drag. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that he was bathed in light, and he turned to look over his shoulder and noticed that the kitchen light was on, and that the house carried the aroma of simmering vegetables and cooking meat. He glanced over at the coffee table, noticing that the bouquet of flowers was absent. Then, a shadow fell over him, and he looked back over the arm of the couch to see Ayumi standing in the entryway between the kitchen and the living room.

"I thought it better to let you sleep," she told him softly as she walked across the room to stand over him. "I figured you must have worked pretty hard to fall asleep as soon as you got home," she added with a small smile while she leaned down over him. To him, she was upside-down, but honestly he didn't want to move. She's as beautiful as ever, he thought as he admired the way the light played over her hair, spilling gold across the brown locks. "You were mumbling in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare?" she asked worriedly.

"No. Not a nightmare," he answered quickly to put her fears to rest. "I'm not sure what to call it, really. Just a dream, I guess," he sighed and scratched the side of his head as he pondered the nature of his subconscious. "It really doesn't feel like I've been asleep that long."

"You were out for hours," Ayumi giggled. "You were fast asleep when I brought Shikadai home, so I figured I would stay for a while. When it looked like you weren't going to wake up for a long time I decided to make dinner. It's just a shame you couldn't give me those flowers in person. They're lovely," she smiled brightly and gestured into the dining room, where he spotted the flowers sitting in a vase. He sniffed in slight disappointment before reaching up to cup her cheek in his hand, causing her to turn her attention back to him. "I hear that you've been stressed lately. Peace weighs heavily on the minds of those who expect war." Leave it to Ayumi to see right through me, he thought wryly.

"I know he's coming. I just wish he would already," he sighed heavily and glanced down the hallway toward the direction of his son's bedroom. "I can't stand the waiting. I just want to end this. For him," he murmured, and his gaze flicked back to her. "For you."

"I know," told him and reached up to place her hand over his own. "And you will. When the time comes, I know you'll be ready. We can't be any more prepared than we already are. When he decides to make his move, he'll find that he may have bitten off a little more than he can chew," she reassured him and rubbed his hand gently with her thumb. He let her soothing touch ease him for a minute, before he slid his hand to the back of her head and gently pulled it towards him. Her chestnut hair fell across his face as he tilted his head back, catching her lips with his own to kiss her softly. Though they were in completely opposite directions, Shikamaru still thought that their lips moved nicely together, fitting together like the perfect lock and key. I should pull a move like this more often.

He was a bit disappointed when Ayumi pulled back, a twinkle in her eye as she smiled down at him. "Don't want to let the food burn, now do I?" she teased and tapped him on the nose as she turned around with a giggle and headed back into the kitchen. He watched her as she went, captivated by the way her hips moved and the way her hair swayed back and forth with every step. He stared at the empty entranceway where she had vanished into the other room for a few moments, lamenting her leaving, before he finally forced himself to sit up and stretch his arms above his head, groaning all the while. I really hate sitting at a desk all day… he thought in distaste as he scrunched up his face. He cracked an eye open when he heard the pitter-patter of small feet approaching, just in time for Shikadai to come careening around the corner and launch himself into the air.

"Daddyyyy!" he squealed with delight as he sailed through the open air, and the Jonin hastily reached out to catch him as he threatened to crash right into the coffee table.

"Whoa, there. You had better watch out!" he laughed as he pulled his son to the safety of the cushiony couch.

"Hey, Dad! You're so lazy, sleeping like that. You're lucky Miss Ayumi is so nice, because I said we should wake you up and she said that we should let you sleep because you must have had a hard day at work, but that's silly, because you don't work hard!" The young boy babbled happily and bounced up and down on the soft furniture. At the obvious insults, Shikamaru scowled and grabbed him by the middle, pulling him close to roughly tickle him.

"I don't work hard, huh? Yeah, right! You little brat! I'll show you for talking that way about me!" he playfully scolded as Shikadai laughed uncontrollably and squirmed in his arms, swatting with his hands to try and stave off the assault.

"No! Dad! Ahahahaha! Stop! Haha! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he shrieked with tears pouring out of his eyes from how hard he was laughing, and after a minute more, Shikamaru conceded and allowed the five-year-old to clamber away, still holding his tiny tummy as he giggled and wiped at his eyes. It was at this point that Ayumi cheerfully called them from the kitchen. While his son was distracted, he grabbed him by the foot to jerk him back over. "No! Not again! Pleaaaaaase!" he howled, already laughing, but rather than punish him with more tickling, the father grinned and hefted the boy onto his shoulders.

"Man, now I'm hungry," he sighed as he stood up from the couch, his son snickering as he swayed precariously on his broad shoulders. "Let's go see what Miss Ayumi has cooked up, huh?"

"Yeah! I betcha it's waaaaay better than your food!" Shikadai laughed down at him.

"Hey, watch it. I'll tickle you again," Shikamaru warned with a warm smile, holding onto the boy's legs as he made his way into the kitchen where Ayumi was waiting.

I don't know when the time will come, but when it does, I'll be ready.

I have everything to protect now- my village, my friends, my son.

Ayumi.

My family.

I will protect my family this time…

This time, I won't lose.