Chapter 18- Final Preparations!

It was 5:30 in the afternoon… The sun was about to set… The orange sky was bright…

In the Ninja Academy, final preparations are being made. Tsunade checked if the stage was still in tact.

"Kiba, have you checked the stage?" Tsunade asked, "If there are any damages, Izumo and Kotetsu would happily do the repairs before the time comes…"

"No need for that, Tsunade-sama. I've checked every area of this stage and everything's still sturdy! The curtains have been dusted and vacuumed. My sister helped me with the dusting! Everything's perfect for the presentation!" Kiba told her.

"Ruff! Ruff!" Akamaru barked, excitedly wagging his tail.

"That's good. A job well done, Inuzuka Kiba! I'll check on the special effects."

"Tsunade-obachan! I had some trouble with those damn smoke machines, so I decided to use smoke bombs and exploding tags instead!" Naruto proudly exclaimed, "I bought lots of 'em from the Shinobi store! It's a good thing they still had some boxes left!"

"That's very resourceful, Naruto…" Tsunade told him, "But couldn't you have asked Sasuke for some help with the smoke machines instead?"

"I wouldn't want Sasuke to suffer the pain and agony I had just trying to work this thing out!"

Then, suddenly, smoke started to come out…

SASUKE: Hey! Naruto! Look! I finally worked this thing!

NARUTO: Uh! (sweat rolls down his face) Well… That's good!

TSUNADE: I'll go check on Shizune's costumes now.

"Tsunade-sama! I have worked day and night just to get these costumes ready by today!

I admit, it was hard work, but I'm satisfied with everything! These outfits look splendid, don't you think so, too?" Shizune proudly exclaimed, "I now believe that success does come after lots of hardships and sacrifices!"

Tsunade's eyes opened with amazement to see a room full of racks with beautiful costumes. "Shizune! This… This is… This is wonderful! I'm amazed! I never knew you had a hidden talent in making magnificent costumes! Another job well done!"

Shizune giggled and rubbed her eye, "Well, yeah… But of course, I couldn't have done it all by myself! I had some clones to help me! And Choji and Neji were terrific helpers!"

"Just doin' our job!" Choji smiled.

Tsunade was impressed and smiled back. "Well, I'll go check if the audio systems are working perfectly. Good job, all of you."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune smiled.

Meanwhile, in the male dressing room, we can find Shikamaru sighing nervously, looking at himself in the vanity mirror.

"Hey, why the long face?" Asuma asked, "You won't get any booty from Ino if you won't give her that hot, hot smile! Now, let's see a big smile!"

Shikamaru looked at him, frowning. "I'm not sure I can do this, Asuma-sensei."

"Don't worry, Shikamaru." Kakashi said, "If you screw things up, it's Gai's fault. He's the one who directed everything in this play, after all! We won't blame you, it's okay to make mistakes."

Shikamaru looked at Kakashi and replied, "Uh, yeah… Ino told me that just last night."

Suddenly, Gai barged into the dressing room, carrying a cart of costumes. "Shizune's such a genius in making costumes! They're all so beautiful!"

"Shizune made all of those?" Asuma asked.

"Yup!" Gai replied, "Which means all of you should get dressed! We still have to put some make-up on you! Shizune's on her way with her make-up kit, and… Shikamaru, are you feeling okay?"

"Uhh… Urrrm…"

Shikamaru's legs were unstable… His eyes were very weary. Suddenly, he collapsed. Gai caught him. "Shikamaru! Hey! Get up!" Shikamaru was unconscious. Suddenly, Gai felt Shikamaru's body… It was heating-up once again.

Gai started to panic. "GUYS! Go get Master Tsunade right now! Shikamaru's fever is coming back up again!"

"Asuma, you get Tsunade-sama. I'll go and get a Medical Ninja." Kakashi said.

Asuma nodded, and off they went.

"Just hang on there, Shikamaru! We'll get Tsunade-sama!"

The news spread quickly. Ino panicked once she heard it and rushed over to the boys' dressing room in her costume. She saw Shikamaru lying down on Gai's lap, unconscious.

"Shikamaru!" she said, then rushed over to him. She knelt down and held his face.

"He's… He's warm again… His fever is…"

Gai sadly looked at Ino and said, "Here, you take care of him. I'll go get a towel."

He left the room, leaving Shikamaru in Ino's care. She laid him down on her lap and looked at him with sad eyes. Her poor heart kept on beating increasingly.

"Oh, Shikamaru… Please hang on! I'm here. I'll take good care of you! I promise. Please hang on! Keep your spirits up!"

Suddenly, Shikamaru answered, "Don't worry. As long as you're here, nothing can bring me down. I'll keep on holding on… You're the one who keeps me alive. And I thank you for that."

"Oh, Shikamaru! I…"

Shikamaru smiled at her and raised his hand to hold her face. "Please promise me you won't cry… Please?"

Ino smiled and held his face back and said, "Yes. I promise."

Then, Shikamaru slowly closed his eyes. Ino continued looking at him, with all her love.

Shikamaru was faint, feeling a hot soreness in his body. His heart pumped and pumped faster by the minute. His body was trembling.

Suddenly, tears started to fall from Ino's eyes. She felt him shaking in her arms.

"Oh, Shikamaru! Please hold on! The medical team will get here soon!"

She held him tighter and sobbed more. Finally, the medical team arrived with Kakashi and Gai running behind them, panting. "We got here as soon as we could!" Asuma said. "Ino, how is he?" Kakashi asked.

Ino sadly turned to Kakashi with tears in her eyes. Kakashi and Asuma looked back at her with those same, worried eyes. Asuma walked over to Ino to comfort her. "Don't worry about him, Ino. He'll be fine!" he said.

Ino looked at him with more tears in her eyes and asked, "How sure are you? Shikamaru looks really sick! How can he possibly be okay?"

Asuma smiled and said, "Come on, stop crying… Let's see a smile! I'm pretty sure Shikamaru wouldn't like to see you crying, right?"

Ino sniffled and tried her very best to give out a smile. She slowly wiped of her tears and smiled at her teacher.

Suddenly, Gai came in with Tsunade and Shizune. "What happened here?" Tsunade asked, "Does Shikamaru have that fever again?" She slowly walked over to where Ino was and knelt down to check Shikamaru.

"Well, Tsunade-sama? Can he still do the play?" Gai asked, worried.

"He looks very ill." Tsunade said, upon placing her hand over Shikamaru's forehead, "I don't know if I'll be able to cure him. His fever is very high."

Everyone in the room was silent. Ino was again, greatly affected. Her smile once again, turned into a frown. Asuma saw how sad Ino looked and said, "Is there a way he could get well in time for the play? You are the best medical ninja in this village, Tsunade-sama. There should be something you could do!"

"Yes! The play is starting in an hour! And we still need to make some final preparations!" Gai added, "This is a disaster!"

"Maybe we should just reschedule the whole thing!" Shizune suggested.

"WHAAAAT!" Gai yelled, "SHIZUNE, ARE YOU NUTS!"

Suddenly, Kakashi added in… "Despite how bad Shikamaru's fever is, the show can't possibly go on. If he does go on with it, something terrible might happen." Then, he looked at Ino. "I'm sure no one would want that, right, Gai?"

Gai sighed, "Well, I guess…"

"…there is still another way, though. But we only have a fifty-fifty percent chance."

Everyone in the room lit up. "There is!" Ino asked, "Wait! What do you mean a fifty-fifty percent chance?"

Tsunade slowly stood up and sighed. "I made a special potion especially for very high fevers. It contains ingredients that can calm the body and lower the temperature. Although this potion can put out the fever for a few minutes, it has some side effects…"

"Side effects?"

"Yes." Tsunade continued, "…after a few minutes, the body will weaken. It will take lots of weeks for the patient to recover his normal strength. And he'll forget… But it's only for a few days. After some time, he'll start remembering again." Then, she turned to Asuma and asked, "It's up to you. Would you like to give it a try? Don't worry, it won't kill him."

Asuma sighed and answered, "Honestly, I'd say yes. It wouldn't kill him anyway, it would only weaken his body for some time. And he won't forget everything for the rest of his life, so I say it's okay! But I think the final decision should come from Ino."

Everyone turned to her. Ino was confused. "I… I don't know… If his body weakens, well… Plus, he'll forget. No. I think he's sick enough already, so…"

"…I'll do it."

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah… I heard the whole discussion… About the potion and all…"

"What? But… why?"

"Ino, I'd love to star in this play with you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, so… I don't get this chance often…"

"Yeah, but, your fever! And the forgetting and the side effects!"

"Not another word… Ino… I'll do the play with you… For you…"

Ino's eyes were once again filled with tears. "Shikamaru!"

"Ino… Even if my body weakens, well… At least I won't die. Everyone would obviously miss me if I disappeared from this world… And if I do forget, I'll make sure you'll be the only one left in my memories, Ino."

Ino smiled and giggled. "Oh, Shikamaru…"

"Tsunade-sama… Give me that potion…"

"One potion coming right up!"

After a few minutes, Tsunade came back with a tiny bottle in hand. "Here it is" she said.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Shikamaru? All because of me?" Ino asked.

"Of course I do! You and me… I wouldn't miss it for the world…"

Then, he quickly drank the potion inside the bottle. He stood up and said, "My body is feeling a lot better… Hopefully, the side effect wouldn't take over my body 'til then…"

Suddenly, Tsunade clapped her hands and said, "Okay! Get into your costumes, everyone! Shizune still needs to put some make-up on you, so do it quick!"

Then, everyone started moving… Ino gave Shikamaru one, last hug and went to the girls' dressing room.

GAI: I'm positive! I'm sure everything will go according to plan!