A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday, but you know how the site was being upgraded... Thanks for the great reviews for last chapter! Glad you liked it. Now, hopefully, you'll see what all the business going on in the last couple of chapters was for. Shikamaru's going to learn a lesson. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, I'll try to update a third time this week, but I'm not going to make promises. If I don't update Friday, I'll upload 4 chapters next week. Enjoy!

"Ino!" Shikamaru screamed as he dashed through the halls of the hospital. He avoided other people when he could, but even if he had knocked someone down, he wouldn't have noticed it. His team had arrived from their mission at the same time as another team. One of the other team members was seriously wounded; something was mentionedabout an elaborate trap, and the kunoichi set to do the assassination had instead ended up being the target. His team hung their heads and were about to pass by all the commotion when Hinata had noticed Shino, covered in blood. They went over to him, and Shikamaru watched, numb with horror, as he watched Ino's limp, bloody body carted away by medical-nin. He sent Hinata to make the mission report and followed, chasing the medics through the hospital.

The medics carried Ino's body into a room and shut the door against him. Grunting, he began to use a shadow jutsu to break into the room when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sakura stood by his side, eyes brimming with tears, but her face was resolute. "Don't worry. I'll save her. She's my best friend," she said, and disappeared into the room.

"Ino," Shikamaru choked, leaning his forehead against the door. It had only been two weeks since they had eaten ice cream together, and now he felt paralyzed with the possible death of his girlfriend. Even though he knew she was a kunoichi, and as such was prepared to die at any time, he felt like she was his responsibility. With crushing clarity, he finally understood why she had sent him on so many low-grade missions. What he hadn't realized was that she was also safe in that position. He was the one that had talked her into requesting that her team have their service terminated early so they could be deployed normally. It was partially his fault that she was in there, lying on that table, bleeding to death.

"I just heard," someone said behind him, and he turned a haggard face to Chouji. "I also heard Sakura's in there."

Shikamaru couldn't speak past the lump in his throat. Desperate panic permeated every cell of his body, momentarily rendering him unable to move. "I-Ino," he breathed. Turning back to the door, he pounded it with a fist, tears welling up in his eyes. "Dammit!" he growled. "I don't know what I'd do if she died. Who would I watch the sky with? Who would laugh when I get ice cream on my nose? Most girls would pretend not to notice, but she points it out herself, and she laughs. She's loud, obnoxious, and annoying. She acts stronger than she is, and she's stronger than anyone else knows. She makes me want to go do things, just to see her smile. Why?"

Chouji gripped him by the upper arms, face solemn. "You're babbling," he said sternly. "You're losing it, Shikamaru. Get back in control."

Shikamaru hiccupped, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to hide the shameful tears. "Her parents are on missions. I killed their daughter, I was the one that asked her to get reassigned."

"Shut up," Chouji ordered, looking Shikamaru straight in the eye. "This is her job. This is your job. It happens. Sakura's in there, and Tsunade's on her way. It will be fine, do you hear me?"

"I-Ino," he moaned, and Chouji sighed, suddenly crushing him in a bear hug.

"You should tell her you feel this way, when she gets better," he murmured.

"Okay," Shikamaru replied, because he didn't know what else to say.

Shikamaru sat on a bench outside the room for hours, only receiving a glance from Tsunade as she rushed into the operating room. Chouji was by his side the entire time, Naomi appearing occasionally to bring them food, although Shikamaru wouldn't eat. Hinata showed up, hugging him fiercely, and Neji and TenTen dropped by to show their support. Lee sat watch with them as well, once in a while going to find a nurse to get the status. Night fell, Shizune disappearing into the depths of the room, and Shikamaru's fragile hope slowly died.

"Ino will make it," Lee said softly, looking into Shikamaru's eyes. "Sakura would rather die than see Ino pass from this world."

"He's right," Chouji murmured, putting a warm, heavy hand on his shoulder.

"When they come out, I'll ask Hokage-sama for leave for our team. We can do service work for a while, if you need to be close by," Lee offered.

"We'll see," Shikamaru mumbled.

About eleven, Sakura came out of the room, bags under her eyes. Lee immediately went to her, hovering, but she waved him away and sat down next to Shikamaru. "She's alive," she said carefully, "But she might not ever wake up."

He let out a moan and put his head in his hands. Chouji squeezed his shoulder. "Ino's tough," he whispered.

"We're doing everything we can," Sakura explained. "She sustained multiple injuries. She has fractures, internal bleeding, and even poisoning. Her wounds are healed, mostly, but I don't know if we can restore her mind. Her coma is pretty severe."

They sat in silence, awkwardly looking away from the quietly crying shinobi, Chouji offering him a handkerchief, which he accepted. Sakura sighed, wiping away her own tears. "Let's go, love," Lee whispered. "There's nothing more you can do here." She nodded and let him put his arm around her.

"I'll be here tomorrow," Sakura said to Shikamaru, taking his hand and squeezing it. "We'll make sure she comes back to us, okay?"

Shikamaru merely nodded. "What room?"

"Tsunade-sama will tell you. She should know soon," Sakura said, and Lee escorted her out of the building.

Shikamaru stepped outside, not wanting to see Tsunade, leaving Chouji to find out the particulars. The breeze was slightly cool, the stars still in the sky. The lump rose in his throat once more, thinking about the nights before her mission, when they would lie in the grass and pick out their own constellations. They still hadn't done any messing around other than kissing of the "good-night" variety, and he found himself wishing they had. Waiting for Ino to make the first move had ended up being more troublesome than the effort of doing it himself, because now he might never get the chance. He was going to show her how much he wanted her when she woke up, that he swore to himself.

"Room eighteen," Chouji said, his large silhouette in the doorway. "Come on in."

He followed Chouji to the room, startled to see Shino there, standing outside. "I failed her," the Aburame heir intoned. "I take full responsibility."

Feeling oddly emotional, Shikamaru placed his hand on Shino's shoulder. "I've realized over the past few hours that it's nobody's fault. We're ninja. This happens."

Shino seemed to regard him from behind his sunglasses. "Very well. I will stand guard until she awakes. If you need anything, ask."

"Thanks," Chouji said for both of them, and ushered Shikamaru inside. Ino lay in the bed, very pale and still. Her usually-rosy lips were nearly white, and her face was flaccid.

"Ino," Shikamaru blubbered, kneeling beside her bed and pressing her hand against his forehead. Chouji took her other hand, eyes focused on the beeping monitors. "Please wake up."

"We just gotta believe in her, you know. Ino-Shika-Cho."

"I know," Shikamaru replied, but the cold dread would not leave his heart, nor would the weight of words left unsaid and things left undone leave his soul. "Wake up, Ino, and I promise I'll do things right."

"Does this mean you're whipped?" Chouji asked, raising an eyebrow, and Shikamaru surprised himself by grunting with amusement.

"Guess so," he mumbled. "Troublesome."