Himawari let out a groan. Today is the day she would be able to leave the hospital, but that didn't mean she wasn't feeling the effects of the battle anymore. She pushed herself out of bed, slipping into her hospital slippers. She wanted to pay a visit to Shikadai, who would have to stay in the hospital for a bit longer, considering the toxic effect of the Ôtsutsuki's chakra hadn't entirely left his body yet.

Slowly, she made her way towards his room, which was at the end of the same hallway she had her room in. When she arrived, she stood in front of his door for a few moments, gathering up all the courage she had left. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door, waiting in front of it until his soft voice told her to come in.

"Himawari?" His face lit up at the sight of her. He was looking much better than the last time she had seen him, right before Naruto had teleported him back to the village. The color on his cheeks was prove off his increasing health. A smile broke out on Himawari's face. Shikadai patted on a spot next to him on his bed. She shyly walked over to him.

The moment she came into armlength from him, he surprised her by throwing his arms around her and pulling her into a warm and comforting hug, causing her to faceplant onto him and filling her body with butterflies. Himawari felt how her cheeks heated up by this sudden sign of affection. Shikadai held her tightly, as she buried her face into his neck, closing her eyes.

The hug ended too quickly and Himawari wished she could burry her face into his neck for a little longer. Instead, she installed herself closely next to the boy on his bed. She barely noticed how one of his arms was still comfortably resting behind her back, holding her into an sideways embrace and preventing her from leaving the bed.

Shikadai looked at her, his deep green eyes filled with joy and something else: "What brings you here, Hima?" He said, his voice barely more than a whisper. Himawari felt her cheeks heat up again at the sound of her nickname coming from him and the fact that she didn't really have a reason for visiting him. She looked in his eyes. Those beautiful eyes that were telling her so many things…

"Euhm… I just wanted to see you…" Her face was entirely red now, she could feel it. She looked at the ground, purposefully avoiding the Nara's gaze. Shikadai's soft finger guided her head towards him, forcing her to look at him once again. She suddenly became aware of how close they were. But she didn't mind. She was feeling all kinds of things and noticed how she felt excited to be so close to Shikadai.

"I'm glad you came" he said in a husky voice, which made her warm inside. The two of them looked at each other for a little while longer, neither of them being able to move, both completely bedazzled by each other. The tension between them was unbelievable and Himawari's blue eyes were trapped by Shikadai's green ones. She parted her lips.

Just as she thought nothing would happen anymore, Shikadai smashed his lips onto hers, with a hunger and passion that she had never seen in him. He claimed her mouth with ease and butterflies once again filled her stomach as Shikadai passionately kissed her. She closed her eyes, fully enjoying the moment. It didn't take long before Shikadai's tongue demanded her to open her mouth and let him in. She let her tongue explore Shikadai's and she felt how the connection between them grew stronger with each passing second. A burning passion came over her and she forgot everything surrounding them. It was just Shikadai and her.

Himawari shifted position, climbing on top of Shikadai. He confidently grabbed her waist and positioned her in a more comfortable position on his lap, deepening their kiss even more. He let go of her mouth and kissed her in her neck, hitting a sensitive spot she didn't even know she had. She let out a soft moan, exciting Shikadai even more, who continued to explore her body with his mouth and his hands. Shivers of excitement ran over Himawari's spine.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps approaching the door. Shikadai let out a frustrated groan, giving her one last passionate kiss, before carefully helping her of the bed and into the chair next to it. A soft knock sounded and Himawari quickly rearranged her clothes and hair, trying to hide the evidence of the passionate time she had just shared with Shikadai. Moments later, Sakura entered the room. As soon as she saw the two of them, one of her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Himawari! What a pleasure to see you here! I was going to stop by your room later to tell you that you can leave the hospital whenever you're ready, but I'll just tell you now. Shikadai… Were going to do some final tests. You'll probably be able to go home somewhere this week as well."

Himawari quickly got up from the chair, the soreness of the battle rushing back at her, as she hurried out the room. Sakura gave her a knowing wink as Himawari passed her, turning her face tomato-red once again.

Shikadai didn't know what to do with his feelings anymore. It seemed like Himawari didn't know either, as she hadn't visited him after their passionate kiss a few days ago. Today, he had been discharged from the hospital and he was walking home. He unconsciously started walking slower as he approached aunt Ino's flower shop. He suddenly remembered that today was also Himawari's seventeenth birthday.

In a split second Shikadai made his choice. Whatever was going on between him and Himawari was something that could be figured out later. Today all he had to do was wish her a happy birthday and show up with a gift. He changed directions and walked into Ino's flower shop before he could change his mind.

"Hello Shikadai! I'm glad to see you back on your feet again. Temari will be glad as well, she's been worried sick about you!" Ino's optimistic voice welcomed him into the store. Maybe he could stop by later to get a bouquet of flowers for his mom as well. After all, he put her through a lot with almost dying twice on this mission. "Can I help you with something?"

Shikadai snapped out of his thoughts, looking at his aunt with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry auntie, I would love some help."

"So? What's the occasion?"

"A birthday…" He couldn't help the little blush appearing on his cheeks.

"Aha…" Ino said tauntingly, making him blush even more. She knew exactly what was going on. She turned around and went into the back of the shop, coming back with a lushes bouquet full of sunflowers. So she also knew who the flowers were for.

"Thanks aunt Ino" he said, trying to hide his embarrassment about the ease she had figuring him out. "How much are the flowers?"

"This time, their on me. I like Himawari and I think the two of you will be a wonderful match. I'm glad you've found someone new after your break-up with Yodo." Her eyes softened at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. They had dated a few years back, but didn't work out in the end. It was painful when they broke up and for a long time Shikadai believed he would never feel the same about another girl again. That was, of course, until he slowly found himself falling in love with his best friends little sister. He thanked Ino once again and left the shop, making his way towards the young Uzumaki's house, building up courage to face the girl he realized he had fallen for.

It was only a short walk from Ino's shop to the Uzumaki's house. He ringed the bell and was met by Hinata's surprised face. Her eyes quickly made her way to the bouquet of sunflowers he was holding. A smile appeared on her face

"Come in Shikadai" she said softly, inviting him in with a swift movement from her arm. "She's upstairs in her room. I trust that you know the way. I'm sure she'll like them" she said, still with a smile covering her face, as she walked back toward the chair she was sitting in.

Shikadai made his way upstairs, skipping the room of his best friends and continuing until he reached his destination. Himawari's door was open. Shikadai stopped in his tracks, taking a moment to look at the young Uzumaki before she noticed him. She was wearing a simple kimono-dress with high socks and her long purple hair was tied up in a ponytail. She was surrounded by books and was clearly focused on the one in her hand, so much that she hadn't even heard him approach her room. He softly knocked on her door. Her head snapped up in surprise, clearly not expecting any visitors. A big smile slowly appeared on her face as she got up and threw her arms around him.

He picked her up and twirled her around for a little, still holding the flowers, before carefully putting her down. He whipped out the flowers and held them out in front of her. "Happy birthday, Hima" he said while bending over and giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. She smiled and planted a quick kiss on his lips, thanking him. He felt his entire body warm up from her ease in kissing him. Coming here, he didn't know where he stood with the young Uzumaki. He hadn't known if their kiss was an in the heat moment or if there was something more going on. Judging from Hima's reaction, it was the latter and the idea of the two of them together filled him with joy.

"Please, Shika, come in! Please don't mind the mess." She smiled at him in an apologetic way, clearing out some of the books to create a path towards her bed. He closed the door, following her.

"What are those books about anyways?" he asked, while making himself comfortable on her bed.

"They're books about several sealing jutsu. Dad gave me some of them. They once belonged to the Uzumaki clan. I'm hoping to find a sealing jutsu strong enough to take care of that Ôtsutsuki" she said while placing the flowers in a vase. She turned around and walked towards him.

Shikadai's eyes grew wide in surprise. He hadn't known she had been trying to find a way to beat their enemy all this time. "Have you found anything?"

"Not yet. There are some interesting techniques in those books, but none are powerful enough to defeat an Ôtsutsuki."

Shikadai thought for a moment. "What if I ask my dad if we can take a look at the Nara clans library? Maybe we have something that would be able to take care of that woman."

Himawari's smile grew even wider and she installed herself into his arms. "That would be very nice. But right now, I don't want to think about our mission anymore… I just want to be with you." Himawari voice was barely louder than a whisper as she said those final words. She snuggled up in his arms and Shikadai felt his cheeks heat up again. How did he get so lucky?

"Well… What do you want to do?" He held her tightly, his head resting on hers.

"I don't know… Watch a movie maybe?"

She grabbed the remote from the nightstand, turning on the tv. After a few rounds of going through different channels, they found a movie that was just about to start. Himawari adjusted her position, laying comfortably in his arms. She intertwined her fingers with his and shivers of excitement ran through Shikadai's body. He looked at Himawari as she was watching the movie and eventually the two of them fell asleep, still in each other's arms.

- Hey guys, I'm sorry about the inconsistent updating. I'm really trying to find some motivation to finish this story tbh and I'm tired all the time. I'll try my best. Also, if you're surprised about the shift in story, I tagged it as romance as well and considering the story is now in stage 2, which is a calmer stage, I can finally develop it. Don't worry, the romance part isn't too long and I just started writing stage 3, which will be the 'final battle'. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Lots of love-