Author's Note-Well, I've finally found some time to type. Yay for four day weeks at work! Anyway, on with the newest chapter!

Disclaimer: As usual, I still don't own it…

Chapter 7

I was so frustrated! I really wanted to go on this mission. But, that was still no reason for the outburst I'd had in the kitchen. I looked over at Shika as we walked. He noticed that I was looking at him and he slid his hand into mine.

"What's wrong?" he asked. I sighed and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted. I just don't want you to leave without me. Especially after yesterday," I explained. He smiled gently.

"It's okay. I really don't want to leave either. But we've all got to do things we don't want to." We'd arrived at the gate and everyone was waiting. We stopped and Shika wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. "I have an idea. How about we get married as soon as everyone gets back? That way we can have all our family and friends there. You'll have Hinata and Tenten here to help with everything and to keep you occupied. Does that sound okay?" he asked. I smiled up at him.

"That sounds great," I answered. I thought of something at that moment. I reached into my shirt to pull out my clan necklace. I took it off; careful to make sure it didn't get caught on my kunai necklace. "This mission is going to be even longer than the last Akatsuki one. Take this with you again and remember the deal that goes with it." He leaned down and I put it around his neck.

"Protect it and bring it back. Not a problem," he replied with a smile. He leaned down and caught my lips in a breath-taking kiss. "I promise." I looked at him and saw my vision get blurry with tears. He chuckled softly and wiped away one that ran down my cheek. I felt my heart ache at the thought that that would be the last time I would hear that laugh for a while. Shika was leaning in again when someone cleared their throat. We separated and I walked over to my dad, past a sniffling Tenten held lovingly to Neji's chest. I looked up at him.

"We'll be back soon, kiddo. Keep your mother company," he said. I nodded.

"I will, Dad. You, Shika, and the others be careful, okay?" He laughed.

"Of course we will! We'll be fine." He pulled me into a hug and squeezed tightly.

"Dad…can't…breathe!" I choked out. He let go and chuckled.

"Sorry about that. We'll be back as soon as we can, Yumi." I smiled.

"I know, Dad. You better get going." He nodded and left with the others. Tenten had walked over and we stood together, watching them leave. I turned to her when they were out of sight.

"Let's go get Hinata. We've got a wedding to plan."

The first week flew by. Between working at the Academy, training with Kimi and Hiro, and planning the wedding, I was exhausted. Tenten stayed over a lot. There were a lot of mornings with one of us passed out on the couch and the other asleep with her head on the coffee table. It did keep my mind off of Shika and Tenten's off of Neji.

One day, we woke up to a knock on the door. Tenten groaned when I accidently kicked her on my way to the door. I opened it to find Kimi and Hiro there with my mother.

"Are we going to train today, onee-chan?" Kimi asked. I looked at the clock on the wall. My eyes widened when I saw it was almost 3 o'clock.

"Oh, Kami! I'm sorry, kids. I'll be ready in a minute," I exclaimed. I ran over to Tenten and shook her. "Wake up! It's 3 in the afternoon. Get up!" She groaned and raised her head.

"Whaa…?" She looked at me, clearly still practically asleep.

"I said it's 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Get up!" Her eyes widened.

"We slept that long? I have a family dinner in an hour! I'll see you later, Yumi!" Tenten gathered her things and flew out the door, past my mom and the kids. I grabbed my equipment and walked out, closing the door. I bent down to Kimi and Hiro.

"I'm really sorry, guys. I was up really late last night. I'll get you ice cream after training to make up for it, okay?" I explained.

"Yay! Ice cream!" they yelled as they tackled me. I hugged them tight before we started to walk to our training area. Kimi and Hiro walked ahead as I hung back with my mom.

"I'm really sorry, Mom. Tenten and I were up late last night working on wedding stuff," I explained. She laughed.

"It's okay. I was just a little surprised when Kimi and Hiro showed up at the house and said that you hadn't picked them up for training," she answered.

"I'm just glad that I didn't have to work today. It's really hard doing all this planning without Shikamaru's opinion. I don't know what he'll like and what he won't," I sighed. She patted my arm gently.

"Honey, I'm really sure that the party part of the wedding isn't what he's worried about. I've seen the way that boy looks at you. You can tell that all he cares about is being with you." I smiled tiredly.

"Thanks, Mom." We'd arrived at the training grounds and my mom went home. I got Kimi and Hiro working on a speed drill and I went to sit against a tree. Next thing I knew, I was asleep and dreaming of Shikamaru…

I opened my eyes to see Shika crouching in front of me.

"Shika?" I asked excitedly. I reached to him as he nodded. He took my hand and pressed it to his cheek. I could feel a little bit of stubble there. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I pulled him to me, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He chuckled. I reveled in that beautiful deep laugh. He laid us down in the grass and I cuddled close to him. "Say something, Shika," I begged. I wanted so badly to hear his voice. He opened mouth but what came out was a young girl's voice.

"Onee-chan!" he said. I looked at him, confused. "Wake up, onee-chan!" My eyes shot open and Kimi stood in front of me with Hiro beside her. I rubbed my eyes.

"Are you okay, onee-chan? We thought you were dead," Hiro said. I laughed.

"I'm fine. Just really tired. Did you finish the drill?" They nodded enthusiastically.

"I beat Kimi three times!" Hiro boasted. She punched him in the arm "Ow!"

"I told you rubbing it in isn't nice!" she scolded. I shook my head.

"Punching Hiro isn't going to make it better, Kimi. You should apologize." She looked at the ground.

"Sorry, onee-chan. Sorry, Hiro." She wrapped her arms around him in an apologetic hug. Hiro turned bright red and I laughed. "Can we go see nii-san?" I frowned slightly.

"Nii-san is on a very important mission right now. He's going to be gone for a while," I explained. Her face dropped. "How about we go get that ice cream now?" That perked her right up.

"Yeah!" Both of them jumped up and down excitedly. I got up and they each grabbed one of my hands. They tugged me down the street toward the ice cream shop. When we got there, the kids told the owner what they wanted.

"I want chocolate!" Hiro said.

"I want chocolate, too!" Kimi added.

"Why do you always have to get what I get? You're such a copy cat!" Hiro complained. I saw tears well up in Kimi's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hiro. I won't be like you anymore," she replied quietly. "I want strawberry instead."

"What do you two say?" I gently scolded.

"Please," they replied together. Hiro made an angry face.

"Now you have to answer at the same time as me? You're so annoying, Kimi!" he said. Kimi burst into tears and latched onto my leg. I bent down and picked her up. She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. The owner of the shop handed Hiro his ice cream and I mouthed the words "Give me a minute" to her. She nodded and I walked to the other side of the shop. I put Kimi down and wiped her eyes.

"Hiro doesn't like me anymore!" she cried.

"I'm sure he still likes you, sweetie. He's just not being very nice. Don't worry. I'm going to find out why. You just stay here, okay?" She nodded. I walked over to Hiro and bent down.

"Okay, little man, you've got some explaining to do. Why are you being to mean to Kimi?" I asked. He stared at me.

"She was mean to me first. She hit me," he replied.

"She apologized for it." He frowned.

"But it hurt my feelings…She didn't apologize for that."

"Did you tell her it hurt your feelings?" He looked at the floor.

"No…"

"You should go tell her that. Then, you can apologize to each other," I suggested. He smiled at me and looked over at Kimi.

"Okay!" He ran over to Kimi. Her face lit up and I saw her say something back to him. Then, he shocked us both. He leaned in and pressed a quick peck to Kimi's cheek. He turned around, his little face pink. He walked up to the counter and got the owner's attention.

"Kimi wants chocolate, too, please," he said shyly. She got the ice cream and handed it to Hiro. He quickly took it over to Kimi and she took it from him happily. I walked up to the counter so I could pay.

"Your children are so cute," the woman said with a smile. I paid her and returned her smile.

"Oh no. They aren't mine. I just look after them from time to time," I corrected politely.

"Oh, my mistake. They are very adorable though." She gave me my change and we bowed to each other. After that, Kimi, Hiro, and I started out walk back towards the compound. I dropped off Hiro first and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you for apologizing, Hiro," I whispered. He nodded.

"Bye, onee-chan. Bye, Kimi." Kimi gave him a big hug too. Then, I took her home and she hugged me.

"Thank you for making Hiro and I friends again, onee-chan. It made me really happy," she said. I smiled at her.

"No problem. I'll see you later. Be good," I replied. We hugged again and she ran into the house. I was walking back to the apartment when I ran into Hinata.

"Hey, Yumi," she said in her normal quiet voice.

"Oh, hey, Hinata. Do you want to come back to the apartment with me? I could use my maid of honor's help with a few things," I replied.

"Sure." With that, we headed to the apartment.

The next few weeks went by pretty quickly. Soon it was the day that the first half of the group would return home. Tenten, Hinata, and I were standing at the gate, awaiting their return. Tenten and I could barely stand still as we hoped Neji and Shika would return with them. Ino was the first one through the gate. The others soon followed her. Ino ran up and hugged the three of us. Tenten kept glancing around the others.

"Neji and Shikamaru did not return with us," a voice said. We turned to see Shino next to us. "All of the jonin plus Shikamaru had to stay. And, although it is against his best interest, Naruto is with them as well."

"N-naruto is with them?" Hinata asked. "I-I thought he was s-still training…"

"We ran into him on our way to the Akatsuki hideout. Instead of coming back to the village, he stuck with us," Kiba said as he walked up.

"How long are they going to be gone?" Tenten asked.

"We don't know," Kiba answered. Tenten, Hinata, and I all drooped.

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," Ino said. I looked at the other three girls.

"I'm going home. I'd really appreciate it if you guys came too," I said. They nodded and we left.