Author's Note- I'm back! Yes, dear readers, it's true. Haha. I did not fall off the face of the earth. I have no internet at my house so I'm stuck using my school's computers and my town library's. It totally sucks. Also, I lost my notebook with all my FanFics in it and I just recently found it. It may be kinda short. Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm back with another chapter. Onwards!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto characters. Only my own.

Warning: Some innuendos. Don't worry. Nothing real bad.

Chapter 2

I walked out of the bedroom and started pacing around the living room. I ran my fingers through my hair. Those soft little kisses…Kami! She'd done that a million times before and I had no idea why it was affecting me now. I heard a noise come from the bedroom and I stopped pacing. I poked my head inside and what I saw made me feel horrible. Yumi was curled up in the middle of our futon, crying quietly in her sleep. I let my head hit the wall softly.

'Kami…I guess I should get some sleep…'

I got a blanket and lay down on the couch, hoping that I'd get a little sleep.

I woke up before Yumi the next morning and left her a note saying that I went for a walk. As I was walking through the village I happened to walk by the flower shop that Ino helped her parents run. I decided I'd stop in and get some flowers for Yumi. I walked inside, the bell on the door tinkling above my head.

"Be there in a minute!" I heard Ino yell from the back.

"Take your time, Ino," I called back. I walked around the shop looking for Yumi's favorite flowers; red and pink tulips. Ino walked out and smiled at me.

"Hey, Shikamaru! How's everything with you and Yumi? I haven't really seen either of you since you moved in together," she said. I scratched the back of my neck in a nervous gesture. She cocked an eyebrow.

"Actually, that's part of the reason I'm here. We had an…issue last night. I upset her and now I feel terrible. I thought I'd come in and get some flowers to apologize." Ino frowned at me and crossed her arms over her chest.

"What did you do?" she asked. I gave her a glare.

"It's more of a private thing. I'd really rather not say." She held her hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. So what kind of flowers are you looking for?"

"Yumi's favorite flowers are red and pink tulips. Do you think you can make a bouquet with those?" I asked. Ino smiled and nodded.

"Not a problem! If you come back in about an hour, it'll be finished," she replied. I thanked her and left the flower shop.

I had a day off so I decided to take a nap. I found a tree that looked like it would hide me and I climbed up. I sat down and started to doze off. As I was napping I heard someone call my name.

'Ahh…I'll just ignore them. I'm tired and I don't care who it is,' I thought. I heard my name again, louder this time.

"Shika! Shika, are you here?" My eyes shot open when I realized who was calling me.

"Maybe he's not here, onee-chan," I heard Kimi say. I sat up and looked down.

"Up there, onee-chan!" Hiro yelled. Yumi looked up and I smiled down at her. I jumped down from the tree and stood up, stretching.

"We've been looking all over for you. Kimi and Hiro wanted you to teach them a jutsu or something," she said. I yawned and rubbed my neck.

"Sure. I can do that," I told them.

"Yay!" the kids shouted. Yumi smiled at me.

"Hmm, let me see. You know how your clan is naturally fast and has special genjutsu?" I asked. They both nodded. "Those genjutsu are called Kekei Genkai. Those are bloodline traits. The Nara clan has some too. We control shadows. Do you want to see?"

"Yeah!" I made some hand signs and stretched my shadow out to connect with theirs.

"Nii-san, why can't I move?" Kimi asked.

"That's part of my jutsu. I can control other people using their shadows. Watch," I replied. I lifted my left arm and so did Kimi and Hiro. I took a step toward them and they took a step toward me.

"Cool!" they said together. I pulled my shadow back and, when Yumi wasn't paying attention, I slid my shadow across the ground and attached it to hers. I forced her to walk to me and I leaned my forehead against hers.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Can we talk about this later? When they aren't here?" she asked quietly. I frowned.

"Just let me know if you're okay. I know I upset you and I'll explain why later. I just want to know if you're fine," I whispered. A small smile graced her features.

"It's okay. I just don't know what I did wrong," she replied. I released the jutsu and pulled away, rubbing my face with my hand.

"You didn't do anything wrong. It…it was-" Yumi cut me off mid-sentence.

"Shh. You can tell me later." She pressed her lips to mine and I relaxed as we kissed.

"Ewww!" the kids yelled, giggling. Yumi pulled away and laughed. I remembered what time it was and I knew I needed to go.

"Yumi, I've got an errand that I've got to take care of. I'll see you back home." I gave her a quick kiss and left.

A/N-Well, there it is. I hope you enjoyed it!

ren-shika-inu15