Well, I thought I should try and at least update this story, for sugarcrazedninja's sake, since I can't think of any new ideas yet...
I don't own Naruto!
Shikamaru awoke, peering blearily at his room. He felt strangely... lightheaded. Maybe it was because clouds were in his head... No wait, that didn't make much sense at all...He slowly raised himself out of bed, his thoughts seeming to come slower than snails. How had he gotten here?
He strained for a minute to remember, vaguely likening his thought processes to pouring wet sand down a funnel, it felt so slow. He thought maybe it was... Asuma? Yes, that's right, Asuma had brought him here....He put both his feet on the floor, intending to leave. Why was he here? He'd already forgotten....
Maybe going outside would clear his head... He liked outside... because it had clouds... and butterflies... and other things...
He found he was wobbly, but it didn't bother him much as he made his way slowly and liltingly towards the door. He put both hands on the handle, trying to force it to open. He blinked when he realised he was pushing it the wrong way. He stared at it for a couple seconds, then thought to turn it the correct way. He was pleased when he was rewarded with a click, and the door opened.
He looked down the hallway, and he noticed everything seemed to have a... halo, he supposed, of light. That was unusual, but yet again did not bother him much. He teetered down the hallway, escaping the nurses' notice for the moment. The colors were strangely vivid, and brilliant. They hurt his eyes, so he squinted as he went along.
Everything looked so different now, but he wasn't sure why....
As he stumbled right out of the hospital, he got some looks from people outside, but no one stopped in their busy day to make sure he was supposed to be out here. He nearly got knocked down several times, in fact, as he tried to navigate towards his home.
Home, however, seemed to be too far away. He ended up slipping onto a bench, feeling almost as if he should be going to sleep right then and there. Everything seemed so hazy... Maybe sleeping would make it better...
"Shikamaru?! What are you doing out here?!" Ino's grating voice shocked him out of sleep, and his head turned slowly to look at her blankly. Her inanely curious eyes met his, and he blinked sleepily. "Hi... Ino..." Remembering her name had been easy enough, just slow. Probably too slow for Ino, in any case. She looked at him like he was insane.
"Shikamaru? Are you okay?! You look really pale!" When her inquiry went unanswered, she groaned. "Come on, why don't you come back to my house and get some water. It's only a couple blocks away." She grasped his arm, and he followed her, drowsily looking around him. She had to keep a very close eye to make sure he didn't walk into anything.
Shikamaru's head lolled as he followed. Ino pushed open a door, leading him in gently. He nearly tripped on the doorstep, naturally.
"Does anyone even know where you are?" Ino asked him, carefully guiding him into a chair. He stared at her for a second, then shook his head, looking as if he'd just realised that himself. Ino sighed. Asuma would probably be worried sick...
"I'm going to go get Asuma, okay? So he knows where you are... Stay here." It seemed almost as if her words did not penetrate Shikamaru's skull, but then he nodded sleepily. Asuma was good... he looked out for him. He was a safe person.
As Shikamaru heard the door shut, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Maybe he would close them for just a little... Just a moment...
/AN/ Wow, it took me so long to update this... But I felt an obligation to the people who liked it, even though I'm not really into Naruto anymore. I hope someone enjoyed it!