Work Text:
The first time Shikamaru saw Sakura, they were five.
Ino was trying to prove that she indeed make an actual friend that wasn't toxic, which they didn't believe. So there she is, standing timidly behind the smug Ino, hands gripping the the sides of her dress in a nervous manner.
She wants to speak but for some reason holds back, and let's Ino introduce her ("This is Sakura, see! I told you I made a friend!).
Her hair is pink like cherry blossoms that sway with the wind, her eyes are green like emeralds reflecting against the sunlight. It's a weird combination but she makes it look good and he can't help but stare at her.
Ino looks at him weird and he realizes he's blushing.
That was when Sakura was cute.
They're all graduating to genin today.
He's glad to finally leave this academy hell, but then there's another hell waiting for him so he isn't too happy.
Nor is he happy when Sakura squeals in lovestruck happiness after she's teamed with Sasuke.
He still can't get over her joining the Sasuke cult. She broke it off with Ino about two years ago so he didn't see much of her. (It saddens him but he doesn't want to admit it)
He grumbles, stuffing his hands deeper into his pockets. Choji looks over confused but doesn't say anything. They all quietly walk over to wherever they're supposed to meet their sensei.
She's outnumbered.
There are three other scary looking sound ninjas, and just her. The bowl cut boy is beaten and (hopefully) unconscious on the ground, Naruto and Sasuke are asleep under a tree. And Sakura is standing in front of them defensively.
She's set a few traps and he's impressed but the enemy easily dodged those and his stomach churns uncomfortably at that. He asks Ino what they're going to do, 'cuz he can't just risk his life for a girl! That's stupid.
Ino's taking her sweet time deciding if Sakura's life is worth saving or not. It baffles him that she's willing to sacrifice minutes to choose between Sakura's life or- well...there's really nothing to lose here.
She's fighting with all her might. Her hands grip on the kunai with a slight tremor, there's blood caking her hair and dress but she doesn't back off. She uses a mixture of clones, substitutions and genjutsu. But the enemy is far too advance. At some point, the female sound ninja grabs a hold of Sakura.
Then there's a kunai going to through her hair.
Pink locks fall prettily on the ground like blossom petals. And he's mesmerized by the determination in her eyes. A guy with black hair is attacking her and he's already out the bushes, sending his shadows towards him.
As an attempt to cover up the obvious lack of thinking on his part, he smugly taunts his female teammate, "You were taking too much time deciding whether you want to save your precious Sasuke or not, so I made your decision for you"
They fight side-by-side, their teamwork needs practice but for their first time ever fighting together, they aren't bad. Her aim is sharp and precise, she occasionally sends chakra through her arms to make her kunai hit harder. And he finally gets to fulfill his desire to skewer them with his shadows for mocking her.
The two others are down before Ino and Choji can process his obvious out-of-character behavior and willingness to actually do something.
And they're just about to attack the third one wrapped in unholy amounts of bandages after forming a semi-solid plan ('cuz she's smart as hell and he wants to play shogi with her) when Sasuke wakes up and goes berserk.
In the end everything goes well (except when Sakura hugs the Uchiha-!) And they are about to go on their own separate ways. He gives a quick glance at Sakura and their eyes meet. She was staring at him too.
Her eyes are slightly glistening after the obvious horrific incident with the evil Sasuke, but there's something else in them. She walks up to him, smiles and brings out a hand holding a scroll ( it's the scroll they need), "Thanks for...saving me" her eyes dull a little, "I'm really grateful that you went out of your way to help me out, here's the scroll that weirdo left behind, we actually need the earth one so it's of no use to us"
Her voice is hushed but stern, like his mother but much kinder (the earth scroll becomes a heavy weight in his pocket as she speaks and he begrudgingly accepts the fact that he'd hand over his team's scroll on a silver platter had she asked for it). He tries swallows whatever lump that's holding him back from speaking but fails.
So he just nods and takes it.
(His fingers brush against her soft grimy ones and jolts of electricity run through him. He jerks his hand back to his side, scroll in hand)
He barely hears Ino screech about how this isn't charity and that they don't need it but he quickly shuts her up, "It's a free opportunity Ino, we're obviously way too weak to actually get a scroll from another team so you should just thank her"
And they're off.
Sakura and Ino are fighting.
And Shikamaru would rather die than admit that he's rooting for Sakura.
He feels rather disappointed when she let's their past hold her down. Judging from Ino being obviously out of it, she could've won.
But in the end they both pass out. He eyes her from the side. Her hair is shoulder length now, it's uneven and falls on her face more than it did before.
It suits her.
He's mentally groaning about how troublesome being a chunin is when he sees her again.
She just flawlessly walked on water and his jaw is on the floor at the display. She begans practicing complex katas when he realizes he's gawking at her.
She's wearing her red qipao that's been cut short to her mid thigh, black shin-length pants beneath them. Her now short hair is up in a ponytail, it looks kind of like his own and his stomach flips.
The young Nara stands there watching her train before she notices him and blushes a pretty pink from embarrassment, "Oh, Shikamaru-kun" (he's hyperventilating cause she's never called anyone with 'kun' besides Sasuke-!) "I didn't notice you were there. Is this you're training ground? I could leave if you want"
Something in his head orders him to deny her assumption and he's already on it, "No, not really" His sweaty hands are stuffed back into his pockets, "I was just walking by when I saw you"
'Your'e amazing' that something in him wanted to say. But he keeps it in and listens to her rant about her being weak and incompetent, which so isn't true.
He corrects her then, supplying his own thoughts about her strength (in a very censored fashion because if he let's a single thought slip out, he's done for).
They talk about ways to help her improve, he suggests she starts with something she's good at because it'll be easier and much quicker, like genjutsu. And when she smiles, he feels as though he'd ended all the world's problems.
The sun has set and she cries out in surprise at how late they'd talked. Honestly, he didn't notice it until the soft orange of the sky reflected onto her prettily nor did he care about anything other than her cheeks flushing pink from whatever her reasoning was.
He walks home that day, a strange feeling in his stomach. Before he finally registers the fact that, that was probably the first time he'd ever heard her talk so much. She had been ranting about anything and everything yet it wasn't too much, it didn't give away anything about her- besides from the fact that she lives for mystery books and chick flicks.
They meet again the following week
It was the Summer festival when he admits she's pretty.
His family and friends had dragged him along to enjoy the festivities when he spotted her.
There are cherry blossom petals in her hair.
He notices that first. Clad in a deep rich red yukata was Sakura, standing near a blonde woman smiling fakely at some other woman. There's a man standing nearing them with an equally fake look.
And Sakura doesn't look happy at all.
She's staring at the Dango in her hands blankly. The blush on her face is cosmetic yet it doesn't make him feel the butterflies they usually sent his way. She looks pretty but it's all shadowed by her downcast mood.
(And he doesn't sleep that day, he just couldn't stop thinking about her)
His parents notice and didn't stop teasing him about it, his mom had even dragged him to them and tried to strike a conversation- which ended in a disaster.
Her parents are faking cheerfulness, that was adamant. He could see how his parents were getting tenser and more grim the longer they talked. By the end of it, had they sent a concerned glance at Sakura.
And Shikamaru knew something was up.
He asks her about her family situation the next time they meet (it's a routine by that point. Shogi and meeting her were the only exciting things in his life, and he'd feel blessed when they'd sit down and play Shogi). She's skittish and begins to fumble uncomfortably in her seat. Red flags immediately go up in his brain and he tenses.
She assures him it isn't like that, (it's not like that! errr..well sort of like that but it isn't serious!) And she spills it out, how her parents aren't exactly supportive with her affiliation and want her to quit and become a standard stereotypical civilian woman with good embroidery skills, who marries into a wealthy family and lives the rest of her life as a housewife.
(Just the thought of her marrying someone she doesn't want to sends his insides in a turmoil)
The pink haired girl also reveals that she's been saving up for the past two years to move out and buy an apartment for herself. She's rather shy about it, as if the thought of being independent is rather new to her. His heart clenches but he nods along, refraining from asking to be if any help because she looks happy for doing something by herself for once and not getting help, so he doesn't want to ruin it.
He comments on her strong will, subtly joking about how he probably would've quit being a ninja had his circumstances been that bad. She's smiling but there's a lightness to them that he's never seen before, and he feels accomplished to know that he was the reason she was smiling in the first place.
"Man, I lost again" she pouts cutely and he fancies that maybe she already knows about his infatuation with her and is using it to her advantage. He sends a lopsided smile towards her and shrugs his shoulders, "Better luck next time I guess"
She playfully glares at him and sets the board up again, demanding another game. They're playing their fourteenth game when she confesses,
"I've been thinking of trying for an apprenticeship with Tsunade-sama"
He almost choked on air, coughing loudly while she glares at him. "That's great" he says, smiling nervously at her venomous eyes.
"No but for real, it's a great idea. You'll learn alot from her. You're chakra control is good so you'll make a great medical ninja, I don't know about the rest but you can do it, Sakura" he repeats again, this time more seriously.
She smiles then, all sparkly and bright, and nods enthusiastically before seeming him the best person in the world.
And he tries to ignore his palpitating heart.
Her clothes are slightly tattered, her hairs looks like a rat's nest, yet she's grinning like she won the marathon.
"She accepted!"
Well she probably did.
It's later revealed that the Fifth Hokage was a ruthless teacher. She had began Sakura's training on the very first day which explained her haggard appearance.
But she's glowing from joy and he can't possibly fathom complaining.
A few months have passed, and she breaks the news to him the day before she is to leave for a mission in the west of the Fire Country.
"I've been promoted to Chunin! Ain't that great? I get to go on many missions that aren't basically chores. Actually I'm going on one tomorrow, so I'm super excited about it. So, how does it feel to no longer be the only chunin is rookie nine, lazy ass?"
'Lazy ass', it was the nickname she'd brought up again. Only this time she said it with fondness that he's okay with it (it's funny how everything is okay when it comes to her), "Great I guess, I hope you have fun or whatever."
She sends him a cheeky smile and nudges him with her elbow, then cheers loudly, "It's on me today! Let's go get some dangos and tea!"
All way there, she goes on and on about the team she had participated in the chunin exams with. It was some other Akamichi boy and another girl who hailed from shinobi parents with no clan.
She boasts about it to the lady selling the sweets as well, getting a wrinkly old smile and an extra dango in return.
He couldn't stop smiling the whole time.
(He returns home that day, a little giddy. She had hugged him out of excitement for her upcoming mission. It wasn't on purpose but the feeling of her arms around him still lingers and her scent is everywhere.
His father spots him from some distance and smiles out of amusement at his son's face, "Had a good time with Sakura-chan?"
He quickly turns to him and scoffs, "Troublesome." And stuffs his hands into his pockets.
Shikaku only shakes his head, "Oh son. You'll learn soon enough I guess"
And walks away into this house.
....to tell his wife about it.)
Her birthday is coming up.
He's pacing around in the shop. How is he supposed to know what girls like, only them and God knows what they like. Shikamaru picks up a rug, thinking about giving a gift for the new apartment she just bought.
But then he remembers the electric stove, candles, literature books and that one painting he gave ot her as housewarming gifts, and quickly decides against another house related gift.
He sighs, exiting the store and walking towards the shopping district. There are many stalls and vendors around- well, of course it's March; the Hanami season.
It gets to stuffy, as if he's suffocating from the sheer amount of happy couples buying sweets and sending lovestruck smiles at each other. So he exits the area, wandering around trying to find a shop that could offer a good gift for Sakura.
He then remembers his kunai holster had gotten old and to get a new one. Sighing for the umpteenth time, he trudges over to a near by weapon's store and enters the building.
Whiffs of oil and metal enter assualt his nose but doesn't stop him. He slouches annoyedly before harshly grabbing a new pair of pouches and holsters before his eyes land on small boxes with black cloth inside.
The box is painted white with fancy golden lines and archs decorating the front. After a closer look does he register that the black cloth are gloves, women's gloves.
And who desperately needs some gloves to keep their hands from bleeding all the time?
Sakura.
And for whom is he trying to find a gift for, since their birthday is soon?
Sakura.
He quickly grabs them, sets them on the counter and asks if the shop provides gift wrapping services. The clerk at the desk laughs loudly at it and shakes his head in a no.
Of course, it's a fucking weapon's store. Not a fucking 'buy your crush a gift store'.
He mutters a sorry and leaves. Leaving a hefty tip to make up for his dumbness.
The day comes and goes. It's the next day and somehow he's in front of her apartment door with his parents close behind him.
"Open the door already, Maru. I'm excited to meet her!" His mom says, pushing him from the back.
He swallows and does as told. The door opens to a somewhat decorated living room. And in the middle of it is Sakura wearing a white ionic chiton* style top with a flowy red mullet skirt. Her, now longer, hair was pinned up in a ponytail with her bangs framing her face.
The universe hates him but sweet mother of God was she a sight to see.
"You're drooling, Shikamaru" his father whispers in his ears. Yet Shikamaru can't find it in him to do anything besides closing his mouth and swallowing his dry throat.
Then he notices the slight make up on her face and his resolve wavers. God dammit, why'd she have to be this beautiful?
His mother is already across the room, bunching up the fifteen year old in her arms, exclaiming wishes and comments on her divine looks.
The pinkette blushes, thanking Yoshino before her eyes land on him. He freezes under her gaze but then his father nudges him forward and his legs walk on their own.
He brings out the hand holding a well-wrapped box, his mind going into overdrive.
Don't fuck it up. Don't fuck it up. Don't. Fuck. It. Up.
"Here you go, I like you"
Silence follows for a single second before he's already on to salvaging whatever mess he's made of himself, "-er outfit. It's looks really nice"
Her face fell a little, "Oh, thanks. Yoshino-san helped me with pick out a dress and this looked good so.." she runs her hand down the skirt to smooth nonexistent wrinkles, as Shikamaru looks at her face with a dazed look.
"It's pretty isn't it?" She asks looking up to his eyes.
He nods along, sending a glance at his mom when she was mentioned from before. Yoshino was staring incredulously at her son, while Shikaku was trying his best not to laugh.
Their son was whipped, wasn't he?
Sakura grabs the box and holds it to her chest, "Thanks for this! And for coming too! Pig is running a little late or whatever and Choji visited earlier today but he's out running errands for his mom so he promised to be there before the cake is cut"
"I see" he swallows, desperately trying to not look at her plump kissable lips, "Uh- got any water?" He turns sharply towards the kitchen and walks away. Leaving a very confused Sakura to watch his retreating back.
And his father's snort can be heard from outside as Ino walks into the mess.
"Shikamaruuuu, I'm bored"
"So? What of it?"
Sakura pouts at him in an annoyed fashion, "whaddya mean 'So what?'! I'm bored and you need to do something about it"
He sighs, hiding his smile, "What am I supposed to do for you, Sakura-sama?"
She grins after making a face at the suffix, "Let's spar!"
Now it's his time to make a face. Sakura had grown tremendously after getting into an apprenticeship with the Godaime. And to spar with her is way too troublesome, "No, that's too troublesome"
"Killjoy" she harumped, folding her arms and cocking her hips to one side, "Are you scared that I'll accidentally hurt you? Because I'm way too strong for you to handle?" She taunts.
"Yes, precisely"
Sakura scoffs but keeps insisting, making half assed promises they both know she won't keep. Until he has had enough (though he honestly doesn't think he could have enough of her, ever), "Alright, fine, fine. Just this once"
She beams up at him (and Kami, does he loves his growth hormones because having her physically looking up at him is so fucking cute-) and grabs a hold of his arm and rushes to the clearing upfront.
"Okay then. Normal spar rules. No chakra, just taijutsu" she explains, getting into a fighting stance.
"Yeah yeah" he complies, getting in a similar position, just a tad bit slouchy.
A cry from some bird is their signal to fight and Sakura is already rushing towards him.
He dodges easily to the left, but her legs are outstretched and he has to jump in order to avoid a mouth full of dirt. She sends another punch aimed at his head and he barely misses it. The next thing he knows he's forced into a series of hand blocks to avoid getting kicked on his side.
Shikamaru skids to the left, trying to attack, but she's already a step ahead and is aiming a drop kick from above and in a haste, he rolls over to the side.
He huffs and before he can get turn around, Sakura's already on him. They wrestle for an unholy amount of time before she comes up victorious and on top.
And Shikamaru is acutely aware of their closeness (and hasn't this happened in all of the romance books he's ever read?) She's straddling his belly, hands gripping both if his shoulders tightly- as if he'd actually want to move away from her- eyes boring into his (oh yes, this has definitely happened in that book-).
Her pink locks fall haphazardly on the sides of his face, and he blinks in surprise. She laughs, "They're long aren't they? You think I should cut them?"
She questions him, her eyes yet again peering down at him. He's frozen because she looks so damn good-!, "I guess?"
Sakura raises a perfect pink eyebrow, "You guess? What does that mean?"
"I mean" he gulps, eyes trailing her soft tresses, "I personally prefer them short" His hand grabs one of the strands, playing with it. He faintly hears her take a deep breath, the warm air fanning his face.
"Why?"
"I don't know, really" their voices are hushed now, barely spoken whispers but they could hear it all clearly, "They sometimes look like mine when you put it up in a ponytail, I guess"
His hands reach out higher, softly caressing the hairs near her ear, eyes looking up at her. Dazed green irises meet his own and he suddenly has an epiphany, they are so fucking close. This is not going to end well. Absolutely not.
He feigns a huff of tiredness, hands falling back down as he tries to calm his thundering heart, "Man, I knew this was going to be troublesome. My head hurts"
And he shunshins a couple of feet away.
(The next week, he tries to ignore the warm feeling in his chest when he spots her at the dango store with shoulder length hair.)
Naruto is due to arrive in a week.
Her broken team was not a very frequent topic they talked about. She got really sullen while talking and later was snappy about anything and everything. He'd rather not go there.
But when Tsunade had called them in, along with a few others to inform about the arrival of the happy-go-lucky Naruto Uzumaki, he wonders what Sakura is thinking.
Her face is blank and he often sees that after a particularly darker missions they go on together, since they're both Jonin now. Her hair is up in a ponytail, (it's a regular hairstyle for her now, she always has it up the way he likes) and she's wearing the standard issue jonin outfit.
(They match-)
"I hope you all understand. That's all, you all can go now" The busty blonde pulls out a bottle of sake from somewhere under the table and takes a swig straight from it.
"What are y'all waiting for? Shoo!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama"
(And Shikamaru walks in on her crying the next week after they meet up with the boy)
Gaara has been kidnapped.
And Naruto has somehow convinced Tsunade to send him to save the red head.
Sakura gets roped into the problem after Naruto demands a Team 7's first mission together after so long (even though they were the ones to abandon her-!) and now there is a replacement for Sasuke who has the personality of a wall and etiquette of a toddler.
Shikamaru is worried because he isn't allowed to come along and he can't fathom leaving Sakura alone with those three, but then Tsunade assigns him another mission and he feels doomed.
Asuma is dead.
And it's his fault.
Kurenai was still locked up in her apartment from grief and his teammates weren't taking it well either.
Sakura has yet to return when Team Yamato was due two days ago. This was all taking a turn for hell and he could do nothing about it. He wants revenge and he'll get it, for sure.
.
"Asuma was reported KIA." Tsunade grimly repeats for the third time that day. Only this time it was to the newly returned Team Yamato.
Sakura freezes, "What?"
"You heard me Sakura, Asuma is dead. Shikamaru is out to take revenge so i sent Kakashi along with him and the rest of team 10."
Sakura's eyes sharpen, her heart was thundering loudly against her ribcage, "Shishou-"
"Yes, you can go Sakura. Just make sure to-"
And the pinkette was already gone.
"-...come back alright. Damn that girl"
There are arms wrapping tenderly around his neck, the earthy smell of her body wash entering his senses and he relaxes, "Hey"
"You okay?" Her voice is soft but it wasn't when she screamed at the grey haired crazy masochist back when they fighting.
He sighs tiredly, leaning back against her, "Not really. This is all too troublesome"
Her chuckle racks her body lightly and he smiles along, "Of course you'd find this all troublesome. Typical Shikamaru with his typical responses"
Her hands caress his cheeks, eyes looking down at him with understanding and softness, "It's okay to cry, you know"
She sits back, his head in her lap. He nuzzles into her almost immediately, "Nah-" His voice cracks, "Too troublesome"
And yet he cries.
"Smoking is bad for the health you know" she snatches the cigarette from his hands, glaring at him, "As a certified medic who had to memorize a whole library worth of medical books, I know exactly what's going down in your lungs and it isn't the best thing to think about"
He sighs, "Troublesome woman, Ninjas don't die of cancer, they die fro-"
"Yeah yeah I know, they die in the battlefield, fighting and all" she rolls her eyes, crushing the thing with the heel of her shoe, "But we're just humans in the end. Nothing changes that, alot of us ninjas survive to live another decade, and you're just taking that chance away"
She looks up at him, "Please?"
He sighs, running a hand through his hair, "God, you make it sound as if I'm an addict. Fine woman, I'll try"
Sakura smiles tiredly, hands grabbing his own and squeezing them slightly, "Sorry, it's just been rough. Oh yeah! Yoshino-san wanted to speak with you."
"What? Again?" He groans, trying his best to ignore the warmth that her hands provide.
Her eyes harden, "Hey! Don't be like that! She just wants to see you"
"I'm sorry okay, just lead the way"
She scoffs before tugging on his hand and leading him back into the building.
Konoha was preparing for a war. A war.
The village was in a frenzy and Tsunade was getting more and more short tempered as the days pass by.
The Konoha 11 had decided for a small get together at Yakiniku Q for some pre-war fun, (God knows who might die) and Shikamaru just wants to sleep.
"Oi, wake up" comes a voice from somewhere to his right.
"Mm..go away"
And suddenly he feels a shift in the surroundings, he opens his eyes to pink skies, purple clouds and blue grass, weird horses with a single horn attached to their foreheads running around- "Kai"
Shikamaru groans, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes, "What the hell was that, Sakura?"
The pinkette grins ear to ear, "I was trying to wake you up, lazy ass. Now come on, we have a place to go to"
Shikamaru grumbles something under his breath before promptly getting up, "This is all so troublesome"
She guffaws at his revelation before they are both walking to the restaurant, side-by-side.
There's bloodshed everywhere.
Corpses of fallen shinobi and enemy alike are practically embedded into the ground. Every now and then would he step of some fleshy human part and throw up at the side.
He's panicking because it's just him, Choji and Sakura fighting a bunch of juubi clones. They had been separated from the rest a couple of hours ago and it's just been nonstop fighting to survive.
Ino had volunteered to take over the intelligence sector about a day ago, so they still didn't know about her whereabouts. The nearest camp was close enough according to the map.
Sakura is off to the side, doing what she does best; winning. The ground splits the second her fists make contact with it and he would've been gawking if it weren't for the ugly beings that were attacking him.
He can feel the exhaustion and something else intoxicating creeping up at him and his hand falters for a bit. There's a clone heading straight for him-
But in the next second it's across the field, having punched by Sakura herself, "You okay?" Her back is to him but she's looking over with concern pooling in her eyes.
Her eyes...
"Yu've pretty ey's" he slurs.
Her eyes narrow, "what?"
"Yer eyes are pr'ty" he repeats, trying to focus on her but theirs three of her now, and he thinks he's in heaven.
She looks baffled, turning around to look at him closely when he realizes there's a diamond on her forehead, "thaz the byakugou, congratss"
She smiles grimly a bit before extending a green glowing hand to his chest. But there's a juubi heading straight for them, "Hey, it's the clone, watch out" He meant to shout but it's just comes up as a gasp.
Sakura's eyes widen and she looks back, then back to him and circles an arm around his midsection, "hold on tight, Maru. Don't move around too much, okay?"
"Yeah" he grumbles out, his head pounding painfully. He feels one of his arms throb out of pain and hisses, "It hurts"
She sets him down a few feet away from the ruckus behind a large rock, shouting their location to Choji before assessing him, "I'll be right back, then you tell me where it hurts"
Choji emerges from behind the rock just as she shunshins away, "You okay, Shikamaru? You're skin is pale"
He tries for a smile but fails so he just shakes his head. The pain increasing tenfold. Faintly he hears the famous yell of Sakura and turns to peek.
There she is; mid-air, hands outstretched, pointing towards the ground with hundreds of juubi clones on it. She collides with the ground, causing a huge cloud of dust from it's impact. He hears the sound of ground breaking and silent scary cries of the clones before they're all buried alive under the now destroyed ground.
She appears next to him the following second, "Where does it hurt?"
He hisses at the pain, pointing towards a nasty cut on his right arm.
She glares at it for a moment, running medical chakra over it, "It's poison"
Choji gasps a bit, "how did he-?"
"It had to be on one of the clones, it's a very complex one, sort of like....Sasori's"
Choji gasps louder, "The guy you killed?! Do you think he's reanimated too? Is Shikamaru going to be alright?!"
"No, I don't think he could be reanimated. I crushed his heart back then and his body was of a puppet so they didn't have his corpse. And about Shikamaru...I can create an antidote but there's nothing here. We have to hurry and get to the camp, fast" she says, looking down at him with worry pooling in her emerald eyes.
He feels bad to be the cause of it, but then a wave of nausea comes over him and the urge to just sleep overcomes him.
He barely registers them trying to move him onto Choji's back.
He's panicking again, if he dies then he'll probably never get to confess to her.
She's checking for his vitals, hands on his pulse point before her hands cover up with green again and touch his cheek gently.
He gasps for air, "Sakura-"
Her eyes widen and look his, "Hey, I need to you to stay awake okay?! Don't you dare close your eyes!"
He smiles that lopsided smile of his, "Troublesome, I love you"
He feels her chakra falter a bit, along with his conscious.
"HEY! Shikamaru!! I said don't close your ey-"
His eyes flutter close.
Shikamaru never expected to wake up.
Let alone in a tent with stingy tables and a very weird stench coming from one of the trays. He groans at his throbbing head, trying to massage it when he notices his arms are heavily bandaged. He curses, dropping his hand back down and looking around.
There's no way this is heaven.
Is it the camp?
Did Sakura and Choji manage to actually save him?
Perhaps it's the troublesome afterlife saints preach about.
Then the zipper to the tent opens and his head snaps to the sound. A very haggard looking Sakura, holding a clipboard wearing a medical coat comes in.
Her tired eyes land on him and they visibly brighten. She grips the clipboard tighter, a large grin plastered on her face.
"How're you feeling, lazy ass?"