I'M BACK AGAIN SURPRISINGLY. LOOKS LIKE I'M POSTING 2 CHAPTERS AFTER EACH OTHER IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, I'M IMPRESSED. I HOPE YOU GUYS AND GIRLS FORGIVE ME FOR THE LONG BREAK NOW BUT I'LL TRY TO UPDATE MORE REGULARLY NOW. I APOLOGISE FOR THE MISTAKES AND GRAMMAR AS USUAL, THE BREAK MIGHT'VE WORSENED IT FOR ME.

HAPPY READING

"So we're getting married now, isn't that a little presumptuous Shikamaru?" Sakura told the shadow user opposite her after the extremely awkward dinner ended. Shikamaru and Sakura offered to clean up since they wanted to do anything except be in the presence of the older kunoichi after dinner. Kurenai said that she was going to bed and so did his mother so the 2 younger ninja found themselves sitting on the carpet of lounge that was only lit by the fire erupting from the fireplace.

"It was just a slip of the tongue." Shikamaru replied as he moved a piece on the shogi board between them. He glad that he and Sakura could finally be alone now without his mother or Kurenai interrupting them hopefully. After dinner ended, there were definitely a few things that they needed to discuss together.
"At least we got their approval." Shikamaru tried to point out a silver lining but the concentration of Sakura's face didn't change. She was doing her best to try and keep up with the seasoned shogi player opposite her right now.

"I don't think we're allowed to date anyone except each other now as well." She meant that as a joke but he was sure that if his mother and Kurenai had their way, Shikamaru and Sakura would be getting married tomorrow.

"What about your parents? Did you tell them about us?" He challenged her as she made her move on the board.

"It slipped out but they were surprisingly okay with it. My mom made me wear this stupid dress as well so that I could hopefully impress your mother." Now it made sense why she had a dress on.

"Looks like we got our families' approvals. I'll still ask your dad for permission I guess. My mother would kill me if I didn't." That got a chuckle out of her while he made his move and took one of her pieces off the board.

"Dammit Shikamaru, go easy on me." Sakura complained then lightly hit his arm.

"If I go easy on you then how are you going to learn?" He gave her a smirk as she thought about something.

"Teach me then. I never had someone teach me how to play this game properly so teach me." Not what Shikamaru was expecting her to say but she wouldn't be the first girl he taught how to play this game. He taught Ino when they were younger, well at least tried to teach her but she didn't care. He taught Temari when they were dating and she paid more attention but she still couldn't win him. She got frustrated most of the time and ended up trying to physically take him down which she managed to do successfully a couple of times before they ended up making it up to each other in bed after that. Hopefully things would be easier with Sakura now.

"Fine." He agreed. She immediately stood up then made her way over to him and parted his legs.
"What are you doing?" She ignored his question and just continued what she was doing then sat down between his legs and rested her body against his. She made herself comfortable as his legs propped up on either side of her.

"Now you can teach me properly." Sakura happily stated as she turned to face him. Their heads were right next to each other's and their breaths danced on their lips immediately drawing them in closer to each other. They slowly but passionately engaged their lips in a battle that neither one of them wanted to end. The mood was really quite perfect if he thought about it. The temperature in the room was not too hot and not too cold; perfectly comfortable. There was enough light to see every beautiful feature of her angelic face. The only sounds that were audible enough were the crackling and sizzling of the fire a couple of feet away from them. It was just perfect, she was just perfect.

"I like this lesson already." Shikamaru breathlessly told her as their foreheads rested against each other.

"Well teach me how to defeat you then I can get my reward."

"You'll never be able to defeat me in shogi."

"Someone's a little cocky." Sakura shot back as she smiled.

"I can back it up." She immediately separated from him as she leaned against his right shoulder and faced the small wooden shogi board they were playing on. He reluctantly turned to face the board as well as he thought of what to teach her.
"Well you know how every piece moves so I guess you just need to learn when to move them and how to use them." Shikamaru concluded.

"Teach me one of your moves then." Sakura told him. He looked at the board then saw the perfect move to teach her that he used to frustrate his father and Asuma with.

"Okay. Look how the pieces are positioned on the board right now. They're all relatively in defensive positions since we were both starting out. One of the moves I loved using against my father and Asuma that made them want to kill me was to use the king to attack." Shikamaru explained. Sakura immediately turned to him with confusion written all over her face.

"I thought the aim of the game was to protect your king and not let it get captured."

"It is but that doesn't mean that the king can't attack as well. It's an extremely risky move but if you use it properly then you can take down even the most seasoned shogi players."

"Have you won your father using that move?" Sakura questioned him.

"I never won my father no matter what move I used." Shikamaru admitted but he wasn't disappointed in that fact. He was actually glad that he couldn't win his father at shogi because it always reminded that no matter how perfect your plan was, there was always a way that it could be ruined.
"I did win a competition when I younger using this move though and I took down Asuma using it." He informed her.

"Okay. Show me how it's done then." Sakura gave her approval. Shikamaru immediately brought his hands in front of her activated his Shadow Stitching ability and used it to begin moving the pieces.
"You can't be that lazy."

"I can't reach the board like this." Shikamaru pointed out but Sakura had a triumphant smile on her face for some reason.

"You shouldn't willingly show your clan's hand signs." Sakura warned him as well.

"It's not like I am showing it to just anyone. I trust you and it's not like it's the first time you've seen it." Shikamaru was right there. Hell, Sakura had helped him practice his ninjutsu once so she had definitely seen the way he activated the shadow manipulation abilities.
"Focus on the way the pieces are being moved now as well." Shikamaru instructed her. They kept quiet as Shikamaru used his shadows to continue the battle on the board. He slowly moved the pieces so that she could see what he was doing and hopefully understand why he moved each piece the way he did. It took a couple of minutes but eventually the battle ended but Sakura turned to Shikamaru with the familiar confused look on her face.

"I'm still confused." Sakura admitted causing Shikamaru to let out a sigh.

"I used my king and brought him to the front lines and he led the attack. I always made sure that there was at least one of my pieces around the king to make sure that he was protected. Usually the other player would look to take down my king quickly and easily then since he was out of his 'safe zone'. Once the other player is distracted, I can use my other pieces and counter attack while moving them into position so that I can take his king instead." Shikamaru explained as simply as he could but he could see that Sakura was hardly paying attention so she clearly didn't care about his explanation.

"So if I distract the king like this." Sakura said then immediately planted her lips on his while her hands travelled up to his hair and undid his hair tie then allowed his hair to slowly fall down.
"Then I can take him down like this." Sakura continued as she slowly turned her body then gently pushed him down as her mouth latched on to his again. He quickly caught on to what she was doing and he enjoyed. She was definitely playful but two can play the game.

"You have to be careful of his counter attack though." Shikamaru warned then easily rolled them over. Sakura now found herself at the bottom of him while he rested above her smiled at her. She returned his smile then moved his hair out of his face before wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him closer to her for a kiss again. The two ninja happily made out without a care in the world on the carpet of the lounge they found themselves in. They enjoyed each other no matter what anyone else thought about them or their relationship.
Suddenly a loud thud interrupted them so they reluctantly separated from each other and looked around.

"What was that?" Sakura asked the question that was plaguing their minds right now. Both ninja scanned the room but didn't see anything unusual.

"Kurenai." Shikamaru said then quickly stood up and raced to the older kunoichi's room. He hoped and prayed that whatever that sound was didn't come from her room. He immediately opened the door as Sakura joined his side. They looked around the room then saw Kurenai lying helplessly on her side on the floor at the foot of her bed.
"Kurenai, can you hear me?" Shikamaru instinctively asked as he reached her then rolled her onto her back.

"She's unconscious and her pulse is weak. We need to get her to the hospital because this is dangerous for her and her baby." Sakura informed him as she checked Kurenai's body. Worry and panic instantly took over the lazy ninja's head. He took in the sight before him but he didn't know what to do. He wasn't a medic ninja so he didn't know if it was safe to carry Kurenai right now or even move her.
"Shikamaru snap out of it!" Sakura ordered him.

"What happened?" Yoshino asked as she appeared in the room.

"I think Kurenai might've had a mild heart attack." Sakura's words sent Shikamaru's mind into chaos now. He felt useless, he felt like a failure. What could he do? How could he help?

"Shikamaru, listen to me." Yoshino held her son's face in her hands so that he could face her. "I know you're worried right now but Kurenai and her child need you. Go to the hospital and tell Shizune about what happened and tell her to get an operating room ready. Can you do that for us?" He couldn't find the words to speak but he nervously shook his head then stood up and quickly sprinted out of the room. He jumped up onto a house as quickly as he possibly could then made his way to the hospital going faster than he ever did before. His heart and mind were racing in his body and he found it difficult to focus on his task of getting to the hospital right now but he eventually did after a few minutes.

"Shikamaru, slow down." Shizune instructed him once she saw him enter the hospital.

"Kurenai had a heart attack." Shikamaru quickly informed the medic ninja who immediately looked focused before she turned around.

"Prepare the operating room and prepare for an emergency birth." Shizune instructed a couple of nurses before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke like a clone. Shikamaru was left standing helplessly in the hospital hallway. He tried to come up with a plan of what to do next but his mind was a complete mess. He couldn't think properly let alone come up with a plan.

"Nara-sama." A voice called him. Shikamaru turned around and saw a member of his clan and well respected shinobi standing behind him.
"Your mother sent me to make sure you're okay." He informed him.

"Where is Kurenai?" Shikamaru quickly asked him.

"Operating room 3. Your mother and Sakura are on their way."

"Thank you." He was surprised by how well he was able to speak right now despite his head exploding with thoughts of panic. He found himself immobilized by fear. He just felt stuck. It just didn't feel right.

"Shikamaru." His mother's voice appeared. He looked up and saw her hurriedly enter the building alongside Sakura.

"I'm going to get ready." Sakura informed Yoshino then took off down a hallway. The ninja next to Shikamaru gave his mother a bow before leaving the hospital as well.

"It's going to be okay Shikamaru." His mother tried to console him as she hooked her arm around his then began dragging him with her.

"I can't lose them as well." Shikamaru finally said causing his mother to stop then grab his shoulders.

"Look at me." Yoshino ordered her son. He lifted his head and turned his teary eyes to his mother's. "You're not going to lose them. Kurenai and her little girl are going to get through this no matter what so you need to pull yourself together and get ready to take care of that little girl while Kurenai is recovering just like Asuma wanted you to." His mother's stern words immediately focused him and gave him a purpose again. A tear finally rolled down his cheek but he quickly wiped it away.

"Okay." He agreed with his mother.

"Mrs Yoshino." Temari called his mother as the Suna-nin approached the mother and son.

"Temari, it's nice to see you again." Yoshino gave the younger kunoichi a smile. Shikamaru didn't understand how his mother could be so calm about this whole situation right now. How could she be holding it all together and still smile?

"What happened?" Temari's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Kurenai had a heart attack. They're operating on her now." Yoshino informed her. Temari's expression immediately softened at the news. This situation probably reminded her of her mother's death shortly after she gave birth to Gaara.

"I'll wait with you guys." Temari offered and Yoshino gratefully accepted. She grabbed her son's hand then continued on their journey down the hallways. Shikamaru had been in this hospital so much times that he knew the layout out of his head but right now it looked like a strange place to him. He looked lost and out of place as he trudged down the hallways with the 2 kunoichi. They finally stopped outside the operating room and Sakura immediately appeared behind them in her medical attire.

"Shikamaru, everything is going to be okay. I'm going to make sure that Kurenai and her baby are okay. I will do everything I can and I won't stop until they're perfectly safe and healthy." Sakura assured him then gave him a quick kiss before entering the room. Somehow her words lifted his spirits a little. His mind raced with possibilities again while he heard his mother and Temari begin talking. He never wanted to deal with the wind user or her family ever again but he was grateful that she was there.

"Hey, are you okay?" He turned to his left then saw his blonde teammate standing next to him. Her mother walked past him and gave him a sympathetic smile before settling herself down next to his mother.

"Yeah." Shikamaru answered her as he cleared his throat. He probably looked like the walking dead right now but there was one thing he could focus on right now, making sure that Kurenai and her child received the best treatment possible so that they can both be healthy and alive.

"What happened? Someone from your clan just said that Kurenai was in the hospital and that we should come quickly." Ino informed him.

"We heard Kurenai fall so Sakura and I went to go see what happened and we found her lying on the ground. Sakura said that it might be a mild heart attack." Anger rose inside him as he spoke. He was angry at himself for not paying enough attention to Kurenai but instead spend his time making out with Sakura. He was angry that he couldn't protect her and her baby. He was angry at the heart attack as well even if it was stupid to do so. His worry and panic had just turned into anger.

"If Sakura is in there with Kurenai and her baby then everything will be okay." Ino definitely believed in her best friend even if it only took times like these to show it. I guess in times of trouble everyone forgot their past with each other and just focused on making sure that they can see tomorrow together.

"I hope so. I can't lose them as well." Shikamaru said again. Those words kept playing over and over in his head. He just couldn't lose Kurenai and her child, not right now. They needed to be safe and they needed to be alive. He already last his father, his sensei and his friend so he couldn't lose anyone else. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to move on if he lost any more people.

"They're going to be alright." Ino told him as she grabbed his hand in her own to try and comfort him.
"Can you imagine how panicked Asuma would've been right now?" Ino was probably trying to get his mind off things. He appreciated the effort but he didn't think it would work.

"He would've been pacing the halls right now." Shikamaru had to agree as Ino released a short laugh.

"Our fathers would've been trying to calm him down, probably even by using their ninjutsu on him. Choza would be standing close to them and giving Asuma his best smile. What is up with the Akimichi men and their smiling? You would swear that they're caught in the happiest genjutsu ever created." Just like Ino, he'd wondered why they smile so much as well but they were just generally happy people. That's the only reasonable conclusion that he could come up with anyway.

"Choji doesn't smile a lot." Shikamaru pointed out.

"Compared to you he's a ray of sunshine." That finally made the lazy ninja smile.

"Here comes your 'ray of sunshine' and his smiling family right now." Shikamaru looked down the hallway and saw the Akimichi family making their way towards them.

"By the way, why is Temari here?" Ino asked as she looked past him at the Suna-nin speaking to the two mothers.

"I don't know. She saw us in the hallway and joined us. She and Kurenai did kind of have a good relationship while we were still dating." He remember having tea with Asuma and Kurenai one afternoon while he and Temari were still dating. The two female kunoichi seemed to get along perfectly so it was only natural that Temari would want to make sure that Kurenai was okay.

"Okay. How was your mission?" She really was doing her best to get his mind off this whole situation right now.

"Hey guys." Choji's less than friendly greeting sounded weird. It always sounded weird when he wasn't happy. It just wasn't… Choji.

"Hey Cho." Shikamaru returned his greeting as Ino grabbed his hand as well.

"Is Kurenai okay?" Choji innocently asked.

"They operating on her still. We don't know yet." Ino answered him. "So how was your mission?" Ino asked Shikamaru again.

"It was okay I guess. The Daimyo is making me take over my father's seat on his council but I don't have to become the Jounin Commander. I'm the temporary leader of the Shinobi Union as well." Shikamaru casually informed his best friends. They were more like family though if we was being honest.

"That's a lot of responsibility Shikamaru." Choji commented. He had to agree with his chubby friend there but there was nothing he could do about it there. He just had to do what he was tasked with doing.

"Wait, what is the Shinobi Union?" Ino asked him.

"It's like the Allied Shinobi Forces but this time there we're stopping the war before it starts." Shikamaru explained.

"Oh, can I join?" Ino surprisingly volunteered. He wondered what the reason for that was. Did she just want a reason to get out of the village?

"After everything has settled down and all threats have been neutralized or contained then we'll pick more permanent members from each village. You could probably apply for a position then." Shikamaru replied.

"What threats are there?" Choji asked him.

"It's not my place to say yet. Kakashi will probably address all the shinobi in the village tomorrow about the Shinobi Union so he'll give all the information then." Shikamaru didn't know if he should tell them about what Sasuke did or about the unknown enemy targeting the Sage's Tools. They had enough to worry about right now as it was without adding another threat to their minds to worry about.

"I'm pretty sure you won't leave Kurenai's side until she leaves this hospital and neither will we." Ino was definitely going to be stubborn there but he grateful for her support right now and he was sure that Choji was going to do the same.

"Shikamaru." Hinata's voice suddenly grabbed their attention. They turned to the hallway to see Hinata hurriedly approaching them while Shino slowly followed behind her. Looks like word about Kurenai's situation was getting around the village very quickly even at this time of night. He was pretty sure that he was going to have to start getting his story straight about what happened to Kurenai so that he could inform any other concerned parties. He needed to get himself together even if it was a façade. His mother seemed to be doing a great job of it so he should be able to as well.

I GUESS THAT IS IT FOR THIS CHAPTER. STARTED OFF KINDA CUTE THEN SH!T HIT THE FAN. I REALLY HOPE THAT KURENAI AND HER CHILD ARE OKAY THOUGH. WHY THE F*** WOULD THIS STUPID AUTHOR RUIN SUCH A CUTE CHAPTER LIKE THIS?! HE BETTER MAKE IT UP TO US IN THE NEXT ONE SO UNTIL NEXT TIME GUYS AND GIRLS, SEE YA…