A/N: So, I changed things in this chapter. Please read this chapter, since it will build a lot of things for the next chapter, not 27, but 28. That will have the largest role that will be things.

Comment please 3

Chapter 26: Do You Love Her?

July 5th:

I scream. I bolt up and stand right away. I fall down on the ground. There is actually noise again in the house.

I am scared.

What the hell just happened? I feel the pain in my midsection again. Was that a dream or reality?

I look up and my vision is blurred from something. Am I with the group or with friends? I cannot tell. I feel the panic rising inside of me. I need to get out of here. Something feels off about what just happened, something just is not right here.

"Tooru are you…" a voice begins.

There are footsteps running towards me. I feel the familiar chakra next me. I turn to see an outline of a person. I can tell that it is Shikamaru. I turn into him and knock him over onto the floor. But then I remember the dream or whatever the hell it was a back away from him. I go against the wall and take in a few breaths. I do not feel right here.

I am scared.

Do something about it! Don't sit around and do nothing.

Do nothing. I would be doing something if I could. I don't understand what is happening with my body.

I don't know what is going on with me.

"Tooru," Shikamaru starts, "Did you have a nightmare?"

I nod my head. I do not trust my own voice, it could betray me and all my thoughts.

"Okay, this is such a drag. Come here Tooru, maybe the jutsu is still in effect," Shikamaru states.

I feel warmth surround me and I know that this is the real Shikamaru. I calm down and wrap my arms around him. Maybe I was wrong about being scared, this is the real Shikamaru after all, nothing can change that.

Is it though?

No, I am sure he is the real Shikamaru.

"It's okay," Shikamaru says, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

I shake my head. I never want to relive it ever again. If I transfer memories I live through it again, even just thinking about it causes me to want to run away from him again. Why would I even want to run away from him? Out of everyone I trust his so much, maybe even more than I should.

"Was it really that bad?" Shikamaru question.

I don't reply. I don't know if I can. I feel like I shouldn't trust people but I know I can. This is all messed up. What is happening to me? Everything is so jumbled up in my mind that I can't even form a thought without something nagging at me. I am sure that it is the fact I have never had anyone this close to me.

I don't know. Is this all the rules being broken? Is this the seal being taken off me?

Nothing is happening.

"Tooru?" Shikamaru asks after a moment of silence.

I break away from the embrace and sit against the wall. I look away from him and try to make myself as small as I can. I do not want to think anymore. I am scared because of what happened in whatever just happened. I feel my head about to explode. The thoughts are swirling so much that I can barely even see the blurs that are in front of me. I might just need to sleep a little longer so I can actually think things through.

"Tooru, I think I know what happened," Shikamaru says after a moment, "I was made as some bad guy and I get that you are scared. I am not the evil person from whatever just happened to you. I am not that person, but I am the person sitting in front of you. I am your friend and right now I know that is all that you want, and frankly that is what I want as well for right now until things calm down a little bit," Shikamaru puts a hand on my knee, "I am the same person that you have been working with for the past few months. I wish to help you so much Tooru."

Why did he get it so fast?

Shikamaru leans forward and kisses my forehead. Right at that moment I can feel him telling me a million things. But the most promising thing that I get is that he convinced Temari to go stay with the man in the Sand.

XX

"But Temari…" Shikamaru stammers.

"I think I love you why is that so hard?" Temari asks.

"Because you are scared about something. I have known you for a long time and I have never seen you so flustered about anything," Shikamaru explains.

This causes Temari to pause. She looks away. He smirks, she never got this flustered with him, and normally it would sting but not anymore.

"What if I am," Temari finally mumbles.

"The man you're seeing right? Did something happen with him?" Shikamaru asks.

Temari nods her head, "Yes, and I have no idea what is going on with me. Why am I so afraid to try anything? I get so weird around him…"

"And this is a man from your village?" Shikamaru pushes.

"Yes…" Temari timidly replies.

Shikamaru lays back and looks at the dome that he had Yamato make when all this first happened, "Stay with him. He will make you happy, I can see it in your eyes Temari. It's a look that you forced at times with me. You have the change that I wanted to see from you every time we were together but I never got that look."

Temari pauses. She sits back down next to Shikamaru. Shikamaru is calm though. He knows, he believes that the man wants to marry Temari. And he thinks that she knows it.

"Temari look, if you want to be with him for the rest of your life go for it. Haven't you known him all your life anyway?" Shikamaru asks.

"Shikamaru… how did you figure it out?" Temari asks.

"Simply by watching you, we have been best friends for a long time right?" Shikamaru simply answered.

Temari sits there, she looks back at Shikamaru and fully understands how much Shikamaru loved her for so long. She never knew that he could pick out so many little things about her that he thought she would over look. Like the forced smiles and the face she put on when she knew he was only a friend.

"Temari, do what you feel will make you happy. I know what will make me happy," Shikamaru states.

After a few moments of talking Temari gets up and goes inside to take a nap and Shikamaru also dozed off.

XX

Shikamaru pulls back and looks at me. I can see it in his eyes that he wanted me to see what had happened. I only look at him, I don't know what else I can do other than just look into his eyes and try to understand. Only, I think I do understand. There is a lot about Shikamaru that I understand and something I have no idea what the heck is going on in that head of his.

I can only look at him, trying to understand what that means for us. Something still feels out of place though… something that maybe I should not know about. The fact that Shikamaru can do that, maybe I did teach him something about it.

"Tooru," Shikamaru says after a moment, "If you are still having nightmares I can still stay with you to make sure that something like this never happens again."

I slowly nod, I fall into his chest. I feel his heartbeat is steady. I take in a deep breath and know that there are no words that need to be spoken between the two of us, and that just sitting like this is all we really need. How could I doubt something that is solid and right in front of me? I take in a few deep breaths and listen to Shikamarus heartbeat, slow and steady just like when I felt weak and I was panicking.

This isn't real.

Wake up.

"Hey Shikamaru," someone says.

"What is it Gaara?" Shikamaru asks, he keeps holding me.

"Do you think we can let one or two people leave to get food for everyone? It's been a few days since anyone has left…" Gaara trails off, "Is Tooru awake?"

"Yes she is," Shikamaru replies, "And yes, there are plenty of people here and I think that we can have people start staying in cycles."

There are footsteps approaching us, "Shikamaru does it make you uneasy that the leader has not come to get her?" Gaara asks.

Maybe I should be the one asking that question.

This statement causes Shikamaru to pause, "Yes a little, but what else can we do? We all know the same amount of information that Tooru does which means we can start to plan a little bit more to help her."

This causes Gaara to pause, "That is true, but the leader could come at any minute and…"

"And force Shikamaru to kill everyone," I mumble.

Both men pause, not expecting me to speak at all. I freeze to and try to wiggle myself out of Shikamaru's embrace but he holds me tighter. I want to get away from him, I want to hide because of what I just said. I can feel a tear running down my face.

"How dare he," Shikamaru states, causing me to pause.

He shouldn't be acting like this.

"What Shikamaru?" Gaara asks.

"How dare he do this to Tooru… I won't let his get away with hurting her like this. Out of everyone, Tooru does not deserve this. She has had so many things go wrong in her life and whatever these people want with her have caused this much stress on her. Who could stand by and do nothing? I know I cannot," Shikamaru pauses, "Tooru, don't worry. We well stop this group."

This causes me to break down again.

You aren't that weak. Get a hold of yourself.

Shikamaru actually cares about me. Something I never thought I would never see in a person, what doubt should I have about this? Not only that, but he is serious about helping me take down this group. Now, he understands what the nightmare was about and why I don't want to talk about it. I come closer to Shikamaru and he only just holds onto me.

I feel his strong arms pick me up and take me somewhere. I cannot tell since I am buried in his chest. After a few steps I feel him sit down with me. I stopped crying but I don't want to leave he chest just yet. Shikamaru's arms stay around me, in a protective way. I decide to only listen to what he is saying.

"We should try to do something," Choji says.

"What we need to do is put our heads together and figure out anything about this group," Shikamaru says.

"Shikamaru, we've tried that and we couldn't think of anything," Tenten replies.

"What's wrong with Tooru?" Naruto asks, and I know he is trying to calm Shikamaru down.

"She is freaked out about things," Shikumaru pauses, "I want us to help her so much. But, I don't know if everyone should get involved with this thing."

This isn't helping, it's hindering.

There is a moment of silence. I lift my head a little bit to look at Shikamaru, and I see him looking down at me.

Shikamaru is upset. I have never seen him this upset. If he gets upset like this he will only make a mistake out in the field.

We lock eyes and I can see the rage in his eyes soften a little bit.

"Calm down," I whisper to him.

"But, I'm worried about you…" Shikamaru begins.

I put my hand on his face, "Calm down. You won't think straight if you are freaking out. I know it hard but you should always wait to hear all sides of the story. You are jumping around."

"I know, I just… I want to help you so much Tooru that it's hard to watch you in so much pain," Shikamaru replies.

We hold eye contact and know that I am right. I know he is worried but we all need to take a step back and not be so crazy about this thing. Shikamaru's eyes soften even more and I see that he isn't nearly as worried as before. We only look at each other and know that taking a day off would be good for everyone. I give a slight nod telling him that he should tell the group.

Shikamaru sighs, "Alright Tooru."

He didn't fight you… overprotective to calm. Doesn't that strike you as odd?

Shouldn't he fight me on this? Isn't the group a pressing matter that needs to be handled swiftly like Shikamaru said? Maybe I am just paranoid and I need to get a grip on reality. There are somethings that need a break, and maybe this is one of those times.

No… I don't think I am. Something is totally wrong here.

"Anyone else confused?" Kankuro asks.

I hear a lot of agreement from the question asked. I know a lot of people are confused by Shikamaru's and mine's communication but to us it is useful.

Shikamaru looks up and around, "We aren't going to do anything. But we well talk a little bit about the group we are looking at. Tooru though should try to sleep. It has been a few days since you actually have moved though"

"Shikamaru," I hear Saskue say, "Could I talk to you Sai, Gaara, Neji and Shino in the other room?"

Saskue shouldn't be here.

No, he shouldn't be. That is weird. I shouldn't, be here.

"Let me go a put Tooru down in her own bed," Shikamaru says as he gets up.

"I don't want to rest, I want to be helping," I protest.

"The best thing you can do right now is rest Tooru. I need… I mean we all need you for this mission. Besides, we won't be far from you, just in the study you and Yamato have next to your room. I will never be too far away Tooru," Shikamaru explains.

There is a pause as he enters my room. The uneasiness has come back again; this uneasiness is something that I do not like. But maybe my gut is wrong just this once. Something feels so wrong about the whole situation.

Wake up.

"Shikamaru," I whisper.

Shikamaru stops right next to my bed, "What is it Tooru?"

I turn away from him as I ask him, "Do you still have feelings for Temari?"

There is a long silence as I wait for him to respond. I have this fear of being abandon by people and Shikamaru is no different. He loved her once and maybe while I have been out he remembered why he loved her.

Which wouldn't be too far away. Shikamaru fell in love with her over a very long time, something that he did not do with anyone else.

If he avoids me does that mean it is true? But how he reacted…

Contradiction again.

He did the same thing when his teacher died. He also went crazy. There is no way it is for me.

"You need to sleep and not worry Tooru," Shikamaru finally says.

I look back at him and see he is not even looking away. I think I know what his answer is.

He does.

And that stings me a little. I am scared that what I thought wasn't there.

No, this isn't adding up.

"But the man from the…" I begin to say.

Shikamaru sets me down on the bed, "Tooru, I said you need to sleep. I will be back to check on you in a little bit."

He turns and walks out the door. I lay there and look at the now closed door. Feeling a tear coming I look away from the door. It is still sunny out, but maybe I should sleep. Only, I feel all alone again… something that I never wanted to feel again. And that uneasiness is creeping up on me again. Why does this happen? This is so messed up that I can no longer fathom it. Is it the fact that I have been in the shadows my whole life? I guess so. I was dumb to think that Shikamaru would go for a person like me.

But now I see that things aren't adding up. Why is this happening now? I need to know. But I can feel my eyes getting heavier.

Slowly I drift off.