A slightly longer chapter just for the sake of breaking this fic down so the last segment will be the one I want. Truth be told, I haven't revised this one, so I apologize for mistakes. Also, I desperately need to write the final parts of this fic, but I keep procrastinating. We've all been there, I guess. Also, I finally updated askshikasaku.

And lastly, Happy Holidays, everyone! I'm sending to all of you lots of love and good vibes, hoping your upcoming days will be filled with joy and that you'll all be safe.

Enjoy!

ii

If word got to Tsunade that she was using her vacations to study instead of relaxing, she would get a lecture of a lifetime, so Sakura decided not to take her chances and hid her books in her closet, choosing to read them only at night before bed. They stuck together that day in the beach for long hours playing volleyball on the soft sand, one group of friends against the other. The terrain certainly made it more difficult to find their footing and whenever someone fell, the rest broke into laughter until they resumed the game.

It was not long before Ino offered to change teams with Sakura. She did not know if this was a ploy to get her to interact more with Shikamaru, but she was certain that the blonde just wanted one excuse to be close to Sai. The volleyball net was set close enough to the open balcony of the restaurant so their teachers could watch them play and have fun and still converse among the four of them at the same time.

The game was progressing well. They were not keeping marks on who won or lost, and sometimes they even ditched the rules to prolong the match. Currently, Shikamaru was closest to the net while Sakura and Choji stayed by the back of the court when the ball came hurling in a blur of yellow and blue. Despite announcing aloud that she got it, the three of them moved together towards the target, and something that could have been prevented unfolded anyway. Sakura was sprawled sideways on top of Shikamaru, Choji's legs were perched upon her back with his feet resting above his friend's face, and the ball missed his head by scant inches.

Kakashi and Yamato, along with their friends, were upon them in a second, Kurenai and Asuma approaching at a slower pace. They helped Choji move away from the duo, his back throbbing due to having tripped on them in his blind rushing towards the ball. Sakura sensed Shikamaru's face to her left and so turned in the other direction to cough as much sand out of her mouth as possible. Hands tugged her upwards and wiped at the corner of her lips. Her sunglasses had fallen somewhere nearby and her eyes were squeezed shut; try as she might, she could not stop rubbing at them to try to get rid of the fine granules of sand. As she doubled over to cough more, Shikamaru stood up with a grunt and clutched his throbbing arm.

"She needs to wash her face and mouth." Sai supplied helpfully over the frantic stream of words coming from Naruto.

Yamato nodded and Kakashi said as he brushed sand away from her shoulders and arms. "I'll take her to the apartment."

"No! Shikamaru can do that!" Ino blurted out quickly, attracting stares in her direction. Thankfully, both her friends seemed too preoccupied with something else to notice.

Asuma's face lightened up in understanding and came to her rescue. "He needs some ice for that arm. There are a few bottles in the mini fridge he can use."

Naruto, as it was, did not understand what was going on, although he had a feeling that he should have an idea of what was happening. Sakura was led over to Shikamaru, her face contorted with all the sand in her eyes and her mouth, and he led her away by wrapping the hand of his good arm gently around her fingers. The sun was blocked out by the tall, thick canopy of the threes in the apartment area and he used the card in his pocket to unlock the door. He left her in the bathroom to clean herself up and trudged over to the mini fridge in the sitting area located between two pieces of furniture.

The coldness of the water bottle was good against his heated skin. He let out a sigh and figured that now they could stop playing volleyball and just chill in the pool instead. The faucet squeaked as it was turned off and Sakura emerged from the bathroom with droplets of water still clinging to her face. Giving him an apologetic smile as she walked past him, she opened the door to the balcony and jumped over the railing to her apartment. He followed suit.

Her apartment was exactly like his, except mirrored. Shikamaru followed her to one of the doors and stopped himself from entering her bedroom as she turned it upside down. "I know I have some eye drops somewhere." She grumbled to herself and shoved her hand inside her purse. "Sasuke always needs them."

This Sasuke was the one that turned her down over and over again. What let him to believe that, he did not know, but since she had given him an opening, he could learn more about this guy. "Who is he?"

"Sasuke? He's our friend. His eyes tend to get pretty dry, so I carry some extra eye drops in case he forgets his own." Sakura pulled a small bottle from the purse, uncapped it and tilted her head back to apply it.

She spoke very casually of him. The fondness in her voice was equal to the one that surfaced when she spoke of Naruto and Sai. It was safe to say she seemed to have gotten over him. "He's a lucky guy to have a caring friend."

Sakura flushed again and blinked her eyes repeatedly. "Yeah." Clearing her throat, she dropped the bottle inside her purse and turned back to him. "Sorry about the arm." Shikamaru flexed it to show it was alright. They headed back to the pool area shortly later.

"Sakura! Can I use your laptop?"

There was no use in denying his request now that he was already in her room turning it on. She sighed heavily and closed the book she was reading, setting it on the couch before moving away towards the balcony. Naruto came bouncing into the sitting area and flopped onto a seat, typing the password he knew by heart by now and waiting for the device to load fully so he could either Skype his boyfriend or watch animal videos.

Sai was sitting on the hammock, camera in hand as he went through the pictures they had taken in their first week at the beach. A glimpse to the neighboring balcony revealed a Shikamaru dozing away on the green stripped hammock with a leg dangling off the side. Smiling softly, she sat beside her friend and turned to look at the images displaying on the screen.

There were many photographs of the scenery, of the sea and waves washing up on the shore, the sky, the different trees and some wildlife that showed up inside the hotel on trees or on the ground. Of course, there were some shots of them as well. Choji in their trip to town tasting many different dishes, she and Naruto looking at display windows, Shikamaru sleeping by the pool, Asuma and Kurenai walking hand in hand, Kakashi lifting another drink with a frilly umbrella in cheers, Yamato laughing at something one of them said, Ino laying down a towel to sunbathe on the beach.

Ino had yet to mention it, but Sai was not falling for her advances. He spoke with her, yes, but did not go out of his way to spend large amounts of time with her. It had never occurred to Sakura before, but maybe it took him a while to open up to someone to the point in which he could entertain the idea of cultivating romantic feelings for them. Or maybe, Sai was simply not into dating, romance and stuff. It was hard to tell mainly because she did not know him so well.

Sakura laid her head on his shoulder with a sigh and watched the pictures flicking and changing. Whatever the case, she would be there to support him if needed.

"We still haven't taken a picture together." He broke the silence after a while.

She straightened her posture and watched him move to the side to grab a tripod. Setting it up, an orange light blinked in the front of the camera to show the timer was running and he sat down beside her again, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled brightly at the camera. She did the same. They knew each other for a very short period of time, but it already felt like he had always been a part of their group.

A soft click reached their ears and he lingered in place for only a second before moving forward to check the picture. Hurried footsteps approached from behind before a voice bellowed. "I wanna take a picture too!"

Naruto threw himself at the hammock. With its balance perturbed, it swayed dangerously and knocked both him and her to the ground in a heap of limbs. Sai followed as they crashed into him, but thankfully, he managed to protect the camera from any damage. The impact was a loud and messy affair and by the time everything had registered and they were laughing, Kakashi and Yamato were at the door like two parents proud of seeing their kids getting along so well. It was not much far from the truth.

Sakura laid her head back down on the floor and caught Shikamaru's sleepy gaze as he leaned over the railing set in the middle of what could have been one large balcony. She grinned at him apologetically, pink coloring her cheeks when he smiled softly in return and shook his head before retreating to his apartment.

It was another early morning when Sakura placed her bare feet on the cool sand of the beach. After a restless night of tossing and turning unable to get some good, proper sleep, she laid in bed for a while before deciding to get up and go out for a walk. She was sure that, if she expended some energy, she would be out like a light when bedtime came around.

The sky was colored in soft colors as the sun rose and marked the beginning of another day. The weather around here was so hot that the chill brought by the night would dissipate before one could even realize. If it were not for the air conditioner, all of them would wake up at seven or eight in the morning drenched in sweat. The breeze that swayed the waves made goosebumps rise on the bare skin of her leg, but her arms were protected from the winds by the hoodie Shikamaru had lent her days ago and she had forgotten to return. She thought of making good use of it before returning it.

Sakura tugged the collar up to her face and inhaled deeply. It still held onto some of his smell and it made her stomach flip.

"Awake already?"

She jumped in fright and whirled around to look at none other than Shikamaru himself. Horror colored her features as a fierce blush rose to her face at being caught. He only lifted a brow and covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned loudly. As the first waves of shock wore off, she noticed the bitter smell of cigarette smoke clinging to him and found it impossible to ignore.

He shook her head when she wrinkled her nose. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I could go for a walk." Sakura replied after squinting at his face for a good amount of time. "It's best than lying in bed waiting for the rest of them to wake up. And I don't want to be caught reading during the day again."

Shikamaru nodded and slipped his hands into his pockets. "I'm going to accompany you, then. I don't even have a book to read back in the apartment."

"I could lend you one."

"Hmm." He frowned his lips. "Not exactly my kind of thing, but thanks for the offer."

She laughed, easily falling into step with him and finding that she liked the way he smirked at the exchange. The water still was not warm enough, so they stuck to the sand, talking and learning more about each other.

Ino huffed as she emerged from the water, brushed back her long bangs and propped her crossed arms on the edge of the pool. Sakura supported most of her weight on her elbows as she faced the rest of the pool and watched everyone playing around. As her new friend turned to mimic her position, she looked at the frown on her face. "What's wrong?"

Her eyebrows pinched further as she watched the men across from them, Sai and Shikamaru talking as Naruto and Choji engaged in a competition to see who could hold their breaths the longest. Ino sunk down until the water was grazing her chin and Sakura followed. "He's not interested."

Sakura smiled ruefully. "He's not."

She did not know what to say next that would make her feel better, but in all honesty, Ino did not seem bothered much by the fact that Sai was not returning her advances. Maybe a little irritated that a man had ignored her charms, but otherwise she was fine. The canopy of the palm trees by the pool rustled in the wind as Choji was the first to resurface to take a large gulp of air. Shikamaru patted him on the back and a second later, Naruto had his head out of the water and was yelling.

Ino sighed and turned her face in her direction so she could whisper discreetly. "I really like Choji, you know." Green eyes widened slightly and Sakura inched closer. "He's a really sweet guy."

Sakura turned her words over in her head and asked. "Then why pursue Sai? Or anyone else?"

An offhanded shrug preceded her reply. "It's silly, specially coming from me, but I'm... Apprehensive. I know them for so long. Maybe he just sees me as a sister and I could ruin our friendship. I can't tell if he likes me and I'm not going to ask Shikamaru about that."

"It's not silly." Ino looked up at her as she resumed her previous perch on the edge of the pool. "I don't want to give advice in case it ends up not being the right course of action to have taken, but at the same time I want to help you."

Her friend laughed as she placed her forearms on the edge and rose to meet her eyes evenly. "No offense, but I know you for only a matter of days and I can already tell you suck at relationships." Sakura scowled darkly at her, an expression that would have Naruto taking back his words, but it only made Ino laugh louder. From the corner of her eyes, she watched as their friends turned to look at them. "Oh, come on. You haven't even tried to flirt with Shikamaru yet."

While her voice was loud, at least her voice was quiet enough to keep the conversation just between the two of them. "Yeah, well, I can't even tell what he thinks."

"Shikamaru is much too chivalrous to be the one to initiate the flirting unless you show some interest." Ino supplied helpfully. "But I want to know what love advice you can offer."

Sakura glared at her as she patted her shoulder soothingly and then sighed in defeat. "Actually, I think you can follow your own advice. Try flirting with Choji and see where it goes. If he doesn't pick up on it or encourage it, then drop it before things blow up on your face."

Ino's eyebrows inched up. "It's not like I haven't considered that, but hearing it from you, I might just try it."

Rolling her eyes, Sakura splashed some water at her halfheartedly and said, "Change the topic, they're coming over."

:

"Sakura."

She glanced away from the darkness of the night and settled her gaze on Yamato's face. Sakura had been the first to shower and get ready for dinner that night and had left early to secure a table for everyone. Usually, the older adults would sit together in a table of their own while the graduates shared one, and usually, they would be the last to arrive. So she was quite surprised to see him in the restaurant already.

Yamato pulled a chair across from her and sat down as she leaned back and lowered her hands to her lap. She smiled and waited for him to speak, wondering what brought him here before everyone else. "I'm glad that Sai is getting along so well with you now."

None of them had gotten along right away thanks to Sai's cluelessness when it came to social interactions. To this day, him and Sasuke still were not on good terms, mainly because the Uchiha had difficulty to let new people into his life and that Sai's actions made him exasperated. It was as if all of his patience was reserved for Naruto and Sakura only and therefore he had nothing left to spare on him, but they were slightly better now than they were in the beginning.

Naruto and Sakura had found it easier to adapt to the new addition in their group and this trip had only strengthened the tentative bonds they had been building. Sai was not so bad and he learned rather quickly; he no more called them inappropriate names and was finally creating a personality of his own instead of trying a new one each day from the books he read, or worse, trying to replicate the personalities of those around him.

Sure, sometimes he got on her nerves, but then again, everyone did that at some point. She was much too hotheaded.

"I can see it makes him happy." Yamato continued in a tone full of fondness for his adopted son. "He finally has real friends and he's learning to express himself better."

Sakura did not know much about Sai's past. It was not her place to ask and intrude in their lives, but from what Kakashi had told her once on the very first day they were introduced, his biological father was too controlling. She did not know what the man had done specifically to make his own son end up that way, nor did she know how Yamato got to be Sai's legal guardian, but she was glad that he had been able to find someone willing to care for him. After that vague explanation from Kakashi, she had decided she would control her temperament better. If she set an example, Naruto would follow it eventually.

"He just needed a little help." She said with a grin and Yamato returned it in kind. The topic dropped as a brief moment later they heard Naruto's loud voice carry inside the restaurant.

The seawater lapped up at the rocks they had chosen to stop after the morning walk, and Shikamaru stretched before sitting up. Sakura was already carefully picking her way over to the beach and he followed her with a yawn, eyes searching for the best path to the soft sands. She stopped and crouched to look at a crab hiding between the curves of the rock and he continued past her as she watched the creature rub at its face with a claw.

"Come on." He called in a drawled out voice and sunk his toes into the warming sand. "We're farther from the hotel today."

"Coming!" She responded loudly and he rolled his neck and shoulders. The rock he had been lying on was not smooth enough for his liking, but it would have made a great spot for a nap if it were.

Shikamaru walked a couple of steps forward and paused once a loud yelp reached his ears, his body immediately swiveling to look at Sakura sprawled on the sand with her chin buried in the granules. It was like the volleyball game all over again, he thought as he rushed over to her. She was hissing and whimpering, and he helped her sit up. One of her legs was bent to make sure her foot was hovering in the air and he decided to inspect it.

There was a gash on the sole of her foot. It cut diagonally across the arch and while it did not seem too deep, it surely was stinging given the way she squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. He took hold of the appendage and frowned; he should have known something like this could have happened. There was no way she could walk like this, unless she wanted to make it hurt more by walking in the salty water or risking getting it infected walking on the sand.

Weighing his options, Shikamaru helped her balance as she stood on one wobbly leg and turned around so she could lean against his back. "I'll have to carry you back." He knew she wanted to protest, but also knew this was the fastest way they could go back to the hotel and get the wound treated.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands found purchase on her thigh. He ignored the way her breath hitched against his ear and hooked his arms behind her knees once she was situated comfortably on his back. Shikamaru inhaled deeply and was immediately assaulted by the flowery smell of her shampoo. With her face shoved in the space between his shoulder and his neck, he began the trek back to the hotel, focusing on the sounds of the waves to distract himself from the close proximity between their bodies.

The hotel was within his sight much alter than he had anticipated and already he could see the bright blonde heads of Ino and Naruto looking around the beach for them. They were first spotted by the adults sitting on the deck still finishing their breakfast, and Kakashi jumped to his feet the moment he caught a glimpse of her pink hair from behind Shikamaru's slightly hunched back. In a flash, they were circled again by all of their friends, and he was impressed at how her friends fussed over her.

"It seems you got Tsunade's bad luck, Sakura." Kakashi commented with only a hint of humor as Yamato maneuvered her to her teacher's back. She only whined in response and lightly pinched his upper arm. "Let's get you inside so you can clean it up."

Sakura stretched on her chair and opened her medical book. It was a nice day as usual and she was going to stay with Kurenai in the hotel while everyone else went out to visit the historical city some miles from there. The original plan was that Asuma were to stay with his wife, but with her foot still stinging and making it hard to walk properly, and since the company responsible for the little tour did not offer refunds, they switched places and he went with everyone else.

Kurenai was entering her fourth month of pregnancy and would sometimes complain about her swollen feet. So they spent the day sunbathing by the pool and sipping on fruity, non-alcoholic drinks and feasting on a serving of spinach ravioli for lunch that was simply divine. It was a lazy and warm day that left Sakura sleepy after hours under the sun. They had talked about how Kurenai met Kakashi and the events that led to her wedding with Asuma. They were both so anxious for the arrival of their baby, and Sakura could tell by the way he looked at his wife that Asuma loved her very much.

They both retreated into their apartment at four in the afternoon for a nap. Sakura laid down on the hammock on the balcony and gently swung from side to side using her toe. The motion, along with the salty breeze and the rustling of the leaves, easily lulled her to sleep. In hindsight, she should have known that sleeping there would lead to a terrible pain on the back and neck, but Sakura had never planned to sleep on the hammock, per se, but she ended up doing that anyway.

She was shaken awake by Yamato later. He smiled down at her as she blinked owlishly and stared at their darkened surroundings. "Hey. We just got home. Would you like to shower before everyone else?" After the first day when she had been the last to shower and had lectured them on the horrible state they had left the bathroom, they had all agreed that she would be the first to shower.

With a slow nod, she accepted his help to stand up from the hammock and hooked her arm around his. Walking around with a limp was a slow process and as much as she did not mind doing things slowly, Sakura did not want to risk losing the clean bathroom to Naruto, knowing he would splash water all over the floor again. The blonde ran up to them before they could take a step and shoved the laptop in her face. "Say hi, Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura." She jerked her head back at the sudden brightness on her face. "You look awful."

She scowled at the image of none other than Sasuke on the screen and scoffed indignantly. "Everyone looks awful near such a pretty boy as yourself, Sasuke." His eyebrow twitched at her choice of word, but he said nothing about that. "Having fun with your friends?"

"I almost feel at home with two loudmouths following me everywhere. Almost." She heard as the only girl in his group protested at his comparison. The two groups got along most of the time, and just as Sai's addition to their group had stirred some misunderstandings, the same had happened with them. After the initial dislike, they learned to have fun in the times they met. They were not so bad as they had seemed at first glance.

Sakura chuckled lightly and waved at him. "Nice to see you and hear Karin's voice and all, but I gotta claim the bathroom before any of them do."

He nodded almost solemnly. "You do that. You look like you need it." She gave him the finger and let go of Yamato to try and stomp her way to her bedroom to grab a change of clothes. Naruto laughed at the exchange and turned the laptop around so he could see Sasuke. "She was limping. Did something happen?"

"Oh. Sakura hurt her foot the other day on a walk with Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru?" The dark haired man echoed as Naruto wandered back to the couch in the sitting area. "Who's that?"

Yamato shook his head slowly and turned around to close the doors to the balcony so they could turn the A/C on. He stole a quick glimpse at the young man lying on the hammock of the neighboring balcony; he was most likely eavesdropping.