MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Anyway...sorry about rushing the last one...and yes I hope this one has pain...also...thanks for thinking I'm a wonder women...though I'm lazy today...

Here's Chapter 6: Hurry Save Her!!!!

Shikamaru

-Flashback-

Our last mission as team ten, we didn't complete it. We brought same to our team; we had failed our fourth mission. Tsunade-sama was going to be pissed.

It was a simple C rank mission. All we had to do was deliver a scroll to Suna. Well it was a simple C rank mission up until rain ninja attacked. It looked as if they had been spying on Suna for awhile and since we showed up we were needed to be destroyed.

"Ino!" I called. She ducked from one of the ninja's punches.

"Yah Shika???" She turned my way and then got hit with a kunai. She winced.

"The scroll! Pass it over here!" She jumped, making the rain ninja ram into the tree. She landed next to me, panting and bleeding.

"Here," she said, passing me the scroll, "Now, lets' kick some ass."

"Yah...lets...the deserve it." Ino and I laughed.

"Okay you two...a little help is needed!" Chouji yelled. Ino and I looked towards him. We laughed.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yah now let's kick some ass!" Ino pulled the kunai out of her shoulder and we both attacked the rain ninja.

-End Flashback-

I looked down at Ino and then at Naruto. We were screwed if we didn't do something quick. Ino looked up at me. Tears were still flowing from all of our eyes.

"Ino, promise me one thing. Promise me that you won't die." I said while crying.

"Yah Ino. You can't die. If you die, well we all die!" Naruto cried.

Neji and Kiba woke up. They stumbled while getting up. Kiba and Akamaru limped over and Neji followed.

"Whoa, Shikamaru, what happened to Ino?" Kiba started to run over. Neji was limping.

"She was..."I started to cry harder. "Protecting me!!! She jumped in front of me right as Itachi threw a kunai." Neji and Kiba were all shocked.

"WHAT!!" Kiba screamed.

"Looks like fate dealt deadly cards today." Neji stated, looking down at Ino. Ino looked towards me; blood dripping from her mouth. I had to think quickly. Ino was the only medic on our team and I knew that no one else knew any medical jutsus. Everyone except Naruto and I had been hurt rather badly.

"How badly is everyone's injuries?!" I demanded. I was at my breaking point. My girl...no my...frien...no...My teammate was dying, slowly dying.

"My arm's broken, and Akamaru's legs broken."Kiba stated; rubbing his arm and Akamaru licking his leg.

"14 cuts, 3 gashes, a twisted ankle and bruised leg." Neji said.

"Just a twisted wrist." Naruto said; I now saw that his wrist was swollen.

"We're about an hour from Konaha. That makes it about an hour and a half before we can get you to a hospital Ino." She smiled a bit. "If we leave now we can make it back before sun down. Everyone think they can make it?" I looked at my injured teammates.

"I can manage..." Neji said, "I have died before..." Ino giggled, coughing up blood.

"I can last, too." Kiba stated.

"Shikamaru lets go then. We have to save Ino don't we?" Neji stood up, and Naruto grabbed all of their backpacks; handing them out to everyone but keeping Ino's.

"Naruto's right! Let's go!" I scooped up Ino and stood up. Naruto, Neji, Kiba and I all set off, to go back to Konaha, to save Ino's life.

About an hour had past and we were still far from home. I looked down at Ino. She had fallen asleep. 'I better wake her up.'

"Ino wake up. Ino please wake up." No response. I could feel her faintly breathing. "Ino, wake up!" I almost yelled. She started to move. Her breathing was not as faint anymore.

"Iaumu, where am I? Are we home? I'm not dead, see, I kept my promise." She opened her eyes and looked up. "Sorry Shikamaru, I was just dreaming." My heart, that I thought was healed, started to break again. She thought I was Iaumu, that guy she walked with to the gate.

"Ino, please don't go to sleep, you could die." She smiled faintly.

"Okay Shikamaru. I had promised to too many people that I wouldn't die, so I'll stay awake." She paused. I could tell she was thinking. She wanted to say something, but knew she couldn't. "Shikamaru, you've always been there for me. I think that" Could she really be telling me that she loves me? Could she? "You make a really good friend and for that I am thankful." She laughed than coughed up blood. "Shikamaru, don't you see, this is why you and me could never be. We're just too good of friends to ever be more." I felt like crying, but I stopped the tears before they came.

"Ino you're right." I said almost dying inside. "Hey Ino, looks like us talking lasted long enough for us to get home, you only have to wait a little while longer before you are guaranteed you're life."

She giggled. "'Kay Shika!" she said like she said just last year.

10 minutes later...

We barged through the door of the hospital. Tsunade-sama was in the lobby talking with a nurse. She turned around to see all of us.

"What are you guys doing here!?!?!" She demanded.

"Ino is dying; we failed the mission I know just save her life please!!!!" I yelled.

"Fine, give her to me." She replied. I handed over Ino very carefully.

"Can you save her?" I sounded almost desperate.

"Yes, and Neji, Kiba, and Naruto, you need attention yourself. Go up to the counter and ask. Tell them I told you to."

"Sure thing Granny Tsunade!"Naruto yelled.

"Shikamaru, follow me." She started to walk off; I followed. "Sit here," She pointed at the couch in the hallway. "It shouldn't be long." I sat down and Tsunade walked off.

'Ino, looks like you're going to live.' I only really remembered being in the hospital after my last mission with team ten, before it split.

-Flashback-

Ino had carried me from 20 min outside Konaha and then to the hospital. I only knew this because she told me. She had sat in the very spot where I was sitting now. I was getting wheeled out of the operation room when she stood up; crying.

"Shika!" She cried. "I'm so glad that you're okay!" She ran up to me and gave me a quick kiss. That's all I remember, because shortly after that I had fallen asleep.

-End Flashback-

30 minutes later...

Tsunade-sama started to shake me. "Shikamaru..." She said, "Ino's okay. You can wake up now."

I sat up; stretching. I yawned and opened my eyes up. I just thought of what I had heard. I jumped up. "Oh thank god!!!!" I rejoiced. "Please can I go see her?"

"Go ahead, I don't care."Tsunade-sama motioned toward the right wing."Room 444."

"Thank you so much Tsunade-sama!!!" And with that I ran off.

Looking down the rows of plain doors and walls; I searched for Ino's room.

'Room 434, Room 436, Room 438."I kept watching, looking and then finally found her room. 'Room 444! Yes!!!' I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Ino said. I opened the door. Ino lay in the far corner of the room. She was smiling but when she saw my face her smile faded. "Oh, hi Shikamaru thanks again for saving me." I walked closer, her chest was bandaged, saw the bandages on her shoulders, her eyes looked scared, her voice sounded dull and her hair, that was now down, was uneven and short.

"Let me guess, you were expecting someone else?" I took a seat at the foot of her bed.

"Kinda, yeah." She looked at the door.

"Who?" I just had to know.

"A friend." She sighed. Apparently I was boring her. Then all of the sudden someone walked in.

"Ino it's me." He said carrying a dozen flowers. I looked at him. He was about 5' 11", had dark brown hair that covered one eye, was wearing black pants and a black shirt, and a Leaf ninja headband.

"Hey..." she looked at the flowers. "Aww...you didn't have too. Thanks." He set her flowers in the vase on her bed side table. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, she blushed, and then he sat down on the bed right next to her. I just sat there in shock.

"Are you okay?"

"Yah...I'm fine. Thanks for coming." I coughed; Ino looked over and then remember something.

"Shikamaru this is Iaumu and Iaumu this is Shikamaru." We exchanged our hellos and shortly after an awkward silence fell over us. "Oh yeah..." Ino started. "Iaumu, Shikamaru is my friend and Shikamaru, Iaumu is my boyfriend." She smiled her sweet smile, while my jaw dropped.

"WHAT!!!"

Wow...that was long...took me all day...now I'm tire...there was some pain in there right? Anyway I will post more...hopefully...if I write them...more before the year ends. Merry Christmas!!!!!!

-Rei-