"Sorry I'm late doctor. There was a clan emergency and my mobility isn't what it used to be." Shikamaru apologized as he stepped into the rehabilitation room in the hospital. His labored breathing and slouched shoulders definitely agreed with his words.
"That's what we're here to fix though." He knew that voice all too well. That joyful yet sinister tone could only belong to one person; Sakura. He looked up and saw her sitting on a stool behind a desk in the hospital's uniform. Her presence definitely surprised the lazy shinobi. Sakura was known for her surgical and diagnostic skills in the hospital, not for her rehabilitation abilities so she shouldn't have been there.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her then slowly made his way to the chair on the opposite side of her desk.
"You mentioned that you were going to start the rehabilitation process so I thought that I'd oversee it considering…"
"Considering that you and your teammates are the reason why I ended up like this." He finished her sentence for her. He didn't like the fact that she was his doctor right now but he knew better than to fight her on it.
"I was going to go with the Hokage's second in command but that as well." Her feeble attempt to lighten the mood fell on deaf ears. He could see that she that there was something on her mind that she wanted to ask him but she didn't know how to just yet.
"Shouldn't you rather be treating patients than looking after me? I'm sure that there are other injured shinobi that need you more than me."
"What is it going to take for you to forgive me?" She finally asked the question that was bugging her. "You forgave Naruto so why can't you forgive me? I've done everything you wanted me to do. You wanted me to stay away from you and I did so why won't you forgive me?"
"I have no choice but to forgive you but I don't trust you anymore."
"I made a mistake and you ended up paying the price but I'm here right now trying to make things right between us."
"I respect that, it's admirable, but it doesn't change anything. The end doesn't justify the means in this case."
"I'm not trying to justify anything. I left Kurenai while she was dying and that is on me. You don't think that my decision to do that hasn't affected me? I wish I could go back and not break my promise to you but I can't. I was selfish and I chose to abandon Kurenai. I decided to trust that my teammates were doing the right thing than to trust your help. I'm not perfect Shikamaru but that doesn't mean that I don't deserve a second chance." The passion and sincerity in her words were enticing but he was nothing if not stubborn.
"You do deserve a second chance but I'm not ready to give you one."
"Why not?"
"Cause you threw away our relationship without a second thought. We knew each other since we were kids yet you didn't even hesitate to abandon us. We've gone through so much together ever since we were kids and I always had your back no matter what, we've even been through war together. But that meant nothing when it came down to it. You'd rather choose to trust someone who abandoned the village and you than someone who's always been by your side. I guess you and Sasuke have more in common than you think." He hated the words coming out of his mouth but his anger was too much to overcome. She hurt him more than anyone else ever had and he couldn't let that go.
"I'm really sorry Shikamaru." She fought back her tears no matter how much they wanted to stream out of her eyes.
"Let's just get this over with." He suggested. He had no problem continuing their conversation but he was afraid that if it went on any longer then he'd ruin whatever was left of their relationship.
"It's been a rough couple of weeks. I honestly don't know how you guys did all this and stayed sane. Then again, you were both out of your damn minds at times." He released a couple of laughs as he stood over the graves of his sensei and his father. It had been a while since he came to visit them and he felt that it was the right time to do so. He'd just ended his first session with Sakura so he went straight there from the hospital. His body felt tired and ached all over but he needed to be there.
"Mirai is doing good. She's definitely a handful but she is the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. Kurenai is going to have her hands full trying to keep boys away from her. The Sarutobi compound is ready for them and Konohamaru said that they can move in anytime they want to but I actually like having them at home. It just feels so complete with them there." His legs wobbled as he put more of his weight on the cane in his right hand. He began lowering his body to sit down on the soft grass but ended up slipping and crashing face first into the grass rather than the graceful descent he was hoping for.
"That was to be expected I guess. I'm always slipping up."
"Uncle! Uncle! Are you okay?" He heard a voice shouting. He turned his head to look around and saw a girl rushing towards him. Did she just call him 'uncle'? He rolled over onto his back so that he could look up at the fading light in the sky. He should probably head home soon.
"Un…cle? You're young." He looked up at the girl standing above him with a confused look on her face. She had extremely long brown hair that matched her hazel eyes. She was pretty.
"I'm probably only a year or two older than you so please don't call me uncle." Shikamaru told her but returned his eyes towards the sky.
"I'm so sorry. I just saw the cane and someone falling so I thought you were an old man." Honest and polite, the only other person he knew that was like that was the Hyuga heiress, Hinata.
"I was injured on a mission so I'm stuck with this cane for now." He explained.
"Are you okay?"
"That's a matter of perspective I suppose." He was honest about that. He honestly didn't know if he was okay or not but he took it one step at a time. All that mattered was that he kept moving forward.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" She knelt down on the grass beside him which immediately alarmed him. Everyone in the village knew who he was or at least recognized him from his hairstyle but this girl seemed clueless as to who he was. Was she an enemy that managed to sneak into the village? He didn't see a headband on her so she probably wasn't a kunoichi but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. He didn't have any weapons on him and the only thing he could possibly use to defend himself with was his cane. He could activate his jutsu but he didn't have enough energy to hold it long enough for him to escape. If she was the enemy then he was as good as dead.
"It's fine." He replied but continued laying. He needed to wait for her to make the first move.
"I'm a good listener you know. I might not be particularly skilled at anything useful but you sound like you need to talk to someone and who better than someone you don't know and probably won't see ever again?" She had a point there. He needed to build up some energy before his journey home and he needed someone living to talk to instead of his departed father and teacher.
"I have nothing better to do."
"Good. I'm all ears." She laid down next to him and looked up at the sky as well.
"I was in a relationship with an amazing girl. We knew each other from our childhood already and I watched her grow into a perfect kunoichi. She is smart, strong, confident and beautiful. We had a rocky relationship from the beginning. There were some fights and disagreements along the way but we made it work and everything was going perfectly but then one night I asked her to save someone close to me. She agreed to do it but then halfway through she left to go chase after her ex who abandoned the village then became a criminal with him as well. I put my body on the line as shinobi to bring them back and that's how I ended up needing a cane to walk. I saw her earlier and she wants me to give her a second chance but she broke my trust and I can't just move past that. That's basically my problem. If you can help with that then I'm all ears." He did his best not to give her any specifics because he didn't trust her. They just met as well so he still needed to make 100% sure that she wasn't an enemy.
"But you still love her." He'd never told her that but he definitely did.
"I don't think I will ever stop loving her."
"Here's my advice then; take a break then start over. You guys were friends before so get back to that first before you try to give your relationship another chance."
"Easier said than done. Every time I see her then my heart wants me to wrap my arms around her and never let go but my head reminds me of what she did."
"That's something you'll have to overcome unfortunately just like she's going to have to overcome what she did to you. Both of you are hurting right now so both of you need time to heal."
"This just sounds too troublesome. When did my life become so complicated?" He released a sigh then closed his eyes. He could feel her gaze on him but he allowed her to continue staring. Maybe she could figure him out because he didn't know what to do with himself anymore.
"Thanks for listening to my problem though." He finally told her before the silence became unbearable.
"It's no problem. I'm just glad I could help." Honest, polite and caring; she was either a highly skilled undercover kunoichi or just a genuinely nice person.
"I don't think I've seen you around the village, are you new?" She hadn't let anything slip while she helped him so maybe a more direct line of question would reveal something.
"This is my first time in Konoha. It's so beautiful. My aunt and uncle always spoke about this place but it's better than they said."
"Where are you from then? If you don't mind me asking."
"I don't mind. I'm from Sora-Ku." He knew that place. It was a once thriving town in the fire nation that the Uchiha's used to store their weapons. After the Third Shinobi War however, the town was targeted for attacks and became an abandoned city that was now home to black marketers. To think that such an innocent person survived in that place is a miracle to say the least.
"Are you visiting your aunt and uncle then?"
"They died a couple of years ago." The sadness in her tone was unmistakable but she didn't seem distraught over it. She moved on.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Today was the first time I got to see their graves. I'm just glad that they could have their final resting place here. It's peaceful."
"It's the most honest place in the village."
"Who are you visiting?"
"My father and sensei. They died unexpectedly earlier this year so I come here sometimes to talk about things that I'm struggling with."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Like you said, I'm just glad that they're here in this place."
"It's getting late so we should probably get going before the ghosts come out at night." Her attempted joke put a smile on his face. She was interesting. Definitely a nice person by nature but he hadn't ruled out the possibility of her being an enemy yet.
"Ghosts would actually be one of the most normal things I've experienced this year."
"You still need to get home. Do you need help getting home?" She stood up and dusted her clothes off.
"I think I'll be able to manage on my own but we could walk together. Where are you staying?" He pushed himself off the ground and she helped up then handed him his cane.
"The Lotus Inn." Shikamaru knew exactly where that was. It wasn't exactly out of the way but it would take longer to get home if he walked with her.
"That's on my way home. I'll walk with you."
"Okay." She agreed as they began walking.
"My name is Shikamaru by the way." He decided to take the first step and introduce himself.
"I'm Tamaki. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." They continued walking while getting to know each other a little better. He all but ruled her out as a possible enemy and grew to like her. He liked talking to her and she seemed to like talking to him as well. She was just as innocently pure like Hinata but without the nervousness and shyness. It was refreshing knowing that there were actually girls out there like her. He made sure that she got to her apartment safely before he began his journey home. He saw Kiba and Akamaru jumping from roof to roof on his way home. He hoped that there wasn't an emergency or an immanent attack looming because he didn't have any energy to deal with that today.
"Shikamaru, there you are." Yoshino announced as she sat down on the couch in the lounge. Her scowl definitely showed the anger her words couldn't express. He wasn't surprised at his mother's anger. He expected it every time he left the house but she was probably upset about a couple of things that happened today.
"Evening mom." He lazily greeted her as he went straight to the couch and rested his tired body.
"Where were you?" She closed the book she was reading then stared at him.
"I was at the hospital, started my rehab today."
"That ended hours ago."
"I went to the cemetery. Haven't been there in a while." Her expression softened at his words but he knew that he wasn't out of the woods with his mom yet. "After that I walked with a friend to her apartment and now I'm at home."
"I heard you nearly became the Hokage earlier." Looks like Kurenai told her about that, unsurprisingly.
"That was just a misunderstanding."
"Are you sure?"
"I don't even know if I want to be a shinobi right now, let alone the Hokage."
"Shikamaru, are you okay?" The sincerity in his mother's question was pure and unfaltering. She probably didn't want him to stop being a shinobi. Why would she stop him though? If he wasn't a shinobi anymore then that meant that he wouldn't be in any danger and he'll have more time to be the head of the clan.
"I'm surviving." Suddenly a puff of smoke exploded in their house with Ino and Sai being the center of it.
"Lazy ass, you're late!" Ino loudly shouted at him.
"Good evening Mrs Nara." Sai gave the older kunoichi a deep bow. He and Ino were complete opposites but they
worked well together.
"Good evening Sai." His mother responded.
"Shikamaru, get ready." Ino ordered him then stormed up the staircase and probably to his room.
"Have a seat Sai." Shikamaru instructed the pale ninja. "Do you have any idea what Ino is going on about?"
"All our friends are at Sakura's house. They are planning on sleeping over again." Shikamaru honestly forgot about that. He was part of that discussion earlier but he didn't care about it and he certainly didn't want to see Sakura right now.
"Is there any chance I can get out of it?"
"Not if you want Ino to disown you." His mother replied.
"And that's a bad thing?" He raised an eyebrow at his mother who released a laugh.
"She's your sister. As much as you hate her, you need her."
"Aren't you at least going to reprimand her for summoning herself in the house?" His mother had one strict rule that every shinobi in the village knew; no being summoned or releasing a summoning in the house.
"Not today. It would just fall on deaf ears because of the mood she's in right now."
"You trust her with me in the mood she's in?"
"I trust her with you more than I trust you with yourself right now." He couldn't blame his mother there. His failed attempt to sit down on the grass earlier supports her statement.
"Just remember that when I come home injured tomorrow."
"Sai, how are you doing?" His mother turned her attention to the other shinobi in the room.
"I'm okay. How are you doing Mrs Nara?" Sai's response definitely sounded robotic. He definitely needed a lot more work on his emotions.
"Besides worrying about my irresponsible son, I've been doing great." He was pretty sure that this was the first time that his mother and Sai were having a conversation so why was she being so friendly with him while putting her own son down?
"Shikamaru's irresponsibility has been justified." He don't know if he liked Sai for taking his side or disliked him for agreeing with his mother.
"Look at the state his in."
"He will recover." Damn, Sai wasn't doing such a good job of supporting Shikamaru right now. Sai was probably doing the best he could but Shikamaru hoped that he stopped soon.
"Okay, I got everything so let's go." Ino thankfully announced as she came down the staircase. He was grateful that she interrupted his mother's conversation with Sai because he was certain that his mother would somehow talk Sai into protecting him.
"I'll see you tomorrow mom." Shikamaru greeted his mother as he tiredly stood up. He really needed the rest but he definitely needed to get away from his mother first before she asked any more questions. Ino grabbed his hand and grabbed Sai's hand when he stood next to her then poofed them out of the house in a cloud of smoke before appearing at Sakura's door. He hated that method of travel because it made his stomach feel weird but he couldn't deny that it was more efficient, especially in the condition he was in.
"This is going to be so fun." Ino cheered as she entered the house. Shikamaru immediately spotted some of his friends sitting in the lounge with an array of snacks on the wooden coffee table and he heard the rest of them in the kitchen.
"Shikamaru, glad to see you on your feet again." Kiba announced. Shikamaru decided to make his way towards the group in the lounge so that he could rest while Sai followed behind him and Ino went to the kitchen. The rest of his friends he could greet once they came out of the kitchen.
"I still have an extra leg though." Shikamaru pointed out the cane then took the empty seat on the couch next to Kiba.
"The message you sent to the five Kage made it sound like you might never walk again though." Tenten stated.
"All that matters is that Shikamaru is back and that we're all together again." Yet another person he wanted to get away from right now; Naruto and all his optimism. Yes he and Naruto mended things earlier but there was no way Shikamaru could handle the blonde's energy. He looked over at Shino sitting on a stool between him and Naruto and hoped that Shino could absorb all Naruto's energy before it came to him but Shino was as motionless as a statue. Hell, he looked like he was sleeping.
"Just in time for the huge summit later this week." Tenten seemed excited about that. With all that happened today alone, Shikamaru had forgotten that Kakashi mentioned it. It just sounded like more trouble.
"But we'll have to be on duty though." Kiba words clearly didn't have any effect on Tenten's excitement.
"There'll still be time to hangout with everyone. We have to have a Guy's Day with Gaara and Kankuro and Darui and…" Shikamaru tuned out as Naruto began listing all the male shinobi he knew that he wanted to hangout with. Kiba and Sai helped him with the list while Tenten surprisingly chirped in a couple of names as well.
"Shikamaru-kun?" A voice asked behind him. He turned around in his seat and surprisingly spotted the girl he met earlier.
"Tamaki-chan, what are you doing here?" He felt weird adding the 'chan' but he only felt it appropriate since she added one herself. He was definitely surprised to see her here especially after he opened up to her earlier. Was she following him? Maybe she was an enemy sent to infiltrate Konoha and the best way to learn all its secrets would definitely to become friends with everyone in this group.
"You guys know each other?" The surprise in Kiba's voice was unmistakable. Shikamaru honestly didn't think Kiba's pitch of voice could go that high.
"I thought you said that you didn't know anyone in the village." Tenten slyly questioned her.
"I don't." Tamaki defended herself.
"We met earlier." Shikamaru informed them before they could ask any more questions. "What are you doing here though?" He asked her again.
"Kiba invited me." Tamaki answered. That makes sense now. Tamaki was honest, polite and extremely beautiful so of course Kiba knew her and befriended her. He often wondered who the dog was between Kiba and Akamaru.
"Yeah. I've been showing her around the village… like you did with Temari." Shikamaru definitely got the message Kiba was trying to tell him: You had your girl that you showed around so this is mine, back off.
"There's no one better than Kiba to do that. He can find anyone place you're looking for with just a sniff and if you just want to have fun then he knows all the best spots." He felt like such a fraud saying that but if it helped Kiba's chances with Tamaki then he didn't care. Kiba was always a loyal friend to him so he was just doing his bit of friendship.
"I know the best ramen shop so if you ever want to try it then just come to me." Naruto proudly stated. Clearly he didn't get the message Kiba was sending. Shino immediately stood up and allowed Tamaki to take his place on the stool. Damn, Shino really was a nice guy.
"You practically live there." Tenten joked as she laughed.
"Because Ichiraku's the best." And Naruto's energy was back. This was definitely going to be a long night.
THAT'S IT FOR NOW. DAMN, SHIKAMARU AND SAKURA REALLY HAVE SOME ISSUES TO WORK THROUGH. I HOPE IT DOESN'T DRIVE A WEDGE TOO FAR BETWEEN THEM SO THAT THEY CAN GET BACK ON TRACK. WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE HOW IT GOES. UNTIL NEXT TIME GUYS AND GIRLS, SEE YA…