Temari's only comfort in the hospital was that Shikamaru wrote everyday.

He told her jokes he heard from the other shinobi, how much he loved her, who had died that day. (Each letter also told her that he was alive.)

On the day his 87th letter was supposed to come, Temari received nothing.

Tears slid down her cheeks, and her hands began shaking violently.

"Looks like you're the crybaby now," a man chuckled.

Temari looked up to find Shikamaru standing in front of her.

He took her into his arms as she sobbed—his embrace said everything that she couldn't.