A/N: For those of you that actually read this, you will know that this story is coming to an end very soon. The next chapter will be the last. Sasuke and Ino will make an appearance. Sorry for not updating sooner! I was rather disappointed with the lack of reviews for my last chapter, though. D: You guys can do better! I believe in you!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Read and review, please! Remember: More reviews will get faster updates.
His breathing was becoming more and more labored. The bleeding hadn't stopped, and it didn't look like it would cease anytime soon.
They were still pretty far from Konoha.
"Lee, hold on. He needs some emergency treatment, again." Lee slowed down, and followed Sakura down to the forest floor. Her hands were ignited in green. Sakura laid one hand on his stomach, and waited.
Some of the skin repaired itself; his breathing became more regular, and the bleeding slowed down.
She knew they needed to get to Konoha soon. Both Sakura and Ino were running out of chakra, and the wound wasn't taking well to their efforts.
"Hang in there, Shikamaru. For me," Sakura squeezed his hand tightly, happy to feel a slight squeeze back. He hadn't gone unconsious yet.
His vision was getting blurry. At times, all the could see was pink, green, or blue. There was still blood seeping from his stomach, and the pain was terrible. It was becoming harder to sustain consciousness.
There were times when he felt better, but those times died away pretty quickly.
Sakura watched as Shikamaru winced in pain yet again, biting his tongue to keep from screaming. She knew it should have been her instead of him. It was her fault she was so careless. He shouldn't be suffering for her mistakes. Tears started to well up in her green eyes again. If they didn't get back soon, he was going to die.
That thought kept coming up, no matter how hard she tried to forget it.
She couldn't go on without him. His lazy attitude, his comforting warmth. Who else would do the shoping when she had to go somewhere, no matter how troublesome it was? Who else would hold her when she cried her eyes out that one of the ninja she had met died? Who else would always be there for her, no matter what?
Who else could she love?
'I never told him I loved him. Sure, I implied it. But nothing is as strong as those words...'
She was regretting that now.
"Sakura, Konoha is in sight!"
Her ears perked up at the mention of Konoha. They were close. He was going to make it.
And more importantly, she could tell him how she felt.
"Ino, run ahead and tell the guards to let us through quickly. Then find Tsunade-sama!"
"Right!" Ino charged ahead of them, making it to the gates and alerting the guards. By the time the rest of her team arrived, Ino had already rushed to Konoha tower. The two at the gate let Lee and Sakura in without a word, and they made their way to the hospital.
"Hokage-sama! Shikamaru is badly injured!" Tsunade's peaceful silence was broken by the loud blond. The older woman spun around in her chair, and looked at Ino.
"And?"
"Sakura cant heal him; she's almost out of chakra." Ino was panting, not taking her eyes off of the hazel ones of the Hokage.
"Right." In a flash, Ino saw the Hokage get up and briskly walk out the door. The woman headed straight for the hospital that Sakura had just taken Shikamaru to moments earlier. "Nara Shikamaru, what room is he in?" she demanded of the nurse at the front desk.
The nurse was a bit taken aback, but wasted no time in telling her. "Shikamaru is in emergency room 4, and he needs immediate attention." Without a word, Tsunade hurried off to the emergency room.
She opened to door, and consulted the nearest medic ninja. "What's his status?"
"His stomach is almost blown out, along with a few other organs. The bleeding won't stop, and we aren't sure if he will make it."
Her eyes narrowed and her stomach clenched. "He's going to make it. Mark my words." The doctor just nodded, not sure of the woman's promise. The Nara was in critical condition, after all. Tsunade might be a life saver, but she was not a miracle worker.
The busty woman walked over to Shikamaru, and made the appropriate hand-seals.
"Tsunade-sensei, I don't think that will work. I've tried..." Tsunade was surprised to hear Sakura's voice, and looked over at the pink haired ninja. She looked like she was about to pass out from lack of sleep and chakra.
She glared at the surrounding medics. "She needs to be in a hospital bed, getting rest, and you let her sit there?" The other ninja looked flustered, and just looked down at Sakura.
"I wouldn't let them separate us, Tsunade-sensei." Sakura looked at her sensei with a look of defiance, as if challenging her to make her move. Tsunade just smiled and shook her head.
She let her green palm rest on his large wound. The skin was not healing itself right.
This was not good.
"We're going to have to take more extreme measures!" Tsunade yelled as she stopped the jutsu. There was blood coming out of the Nara's mouth now, a direct reult of his body rejecting the chakra. She was worried. "You!" She bared at one of the medics just standing there. "I need you to go get a few files out of my records room. Tell Shizune that I need the purples ones. She'll know that it means." The woman nodded, and disappeared.
"Shizune-san! Tsunade-sama needs the purple files!"
The black haired woman's eyes opened wide in shock. The... purple ones? "Why?"
"Nara Shikamaru's life is in danger." Shizune frowned, and raced to the records room. She opened a cabinet marked 'Forbidden.' Tsunade had forbidden any medic ninja to use these jutsu. She was going to break her own rule to save him.
She emerged from the room, and handed the ninja the files. "I wouldn't look in those if I were you," she said, noting the girls curious look. "They are sealed by the Hokage herself, and only she and I can open them." The girl nodded, and disappeared yet again.
Appearing behind the Hokage, the files were forked over. Tsunade preformed a special seal breaker, and opened the files. Reluctantly, she started the hand signs. Her hands, instead of turning green, turned an odd pink color. She immediatley could tell that her large reserves of chakra were going to be used, for the most part, all up. She placed the pink chakra over his stomach.
Slowly, the skin started repairing itself correctly. But every so often, Shikamaru would wince in pain. There was a reason that these methods were banned.
They caused a lot of pain to the bearer of the wound, and Tsunade wasn't sure they were safe for any but the most extreme cases. And this wound was an extreme case.
Hours later, Tsunade emerged from the emergency room, wiping sweat from her face. She had done it. Nara Shikamaru was healed.
He was going to be out for at least a few days, and he wasn't going to be the same for the rest of his life. His lifespan might even be drastically reduced. Hopefully he was going to live a very, very long life.
But he was alive.
She wanted to get to her office for a nice nap. Her chakra was almost depleted, a feeling she didn't enjoy much.
They had moved him to his own hospital room. Conveniently, the room was built for two patients, so it had two beds. Sakura was allowed to stay in his room with him the entire time he was in there. She was considered a patient for the minor wounds she had sustained.
The whole time Shikamaru was in the hospital, Sakura never left his room. Most of the day, she would sit next to him is the chair beside his bed. She had moved their beds much closer, so she could be near him when they were asleep, just in case he woke up.
But Sakura hardly slept while she was in there. She would just sit in her chair for hours on end, and stare at Shikamaru's sleeping form.
On the third day of being in the hospital, Sakura laid her head on his chest. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
"I love you, Shikamaru. I know you can't hear me, but I love you so much," she said as her eyelids drooped.
She was asleep.
A/N: I hope you liked it! I have to say, if I don't get more reviews, I'll focus on my other stories and ideas instead of finishing up. Reviews bribes. shifty eyes And bribes are fuuuuuun.
Love you all anyway, regardless of reviews! I just don't love to update without them...