It's Not Forever *Shikamaru/OC/Gaara* (Book 1) COMPLETE

Chapter 1

A/N: Chapters are not set up as traditional chapters, they will start and stop as I find a place to stop. It was written all-together, my apologies. Also I apologize because I think the first few chapters are terrible. It gets better later and at some point I plan on rewriting at least the beginning.
==
 A bit about our lovely little heroine: 

    Kaida Hattori
Age: 13
Village: Leaf
Hair: Mid-back length, straight, dark brown with red undertones
Eyes: Light brown
Typical Outfit: Sleeveless jacket, shorts, tank top, thigh high socks, face mask covering nose and down. 
Height: 4 foot 11 inches
Weight: 76 pounds
Skill: Sound related attacks, specialty is using drum sticks to amplify or perform jutsu
Team: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi
Birthday: June 09
==

                               I stroll through the woods and finally reach the clearing where my team members are waiting for our sensei to arrive. The trio looks either bored or irritated, with the only other female looking both. My best friend, Shikamaru is laying on the grass in the center where the trees are parted, staring up at the sky. It seems to be his favorite past time besides complaining about everything. I don't mind, he's rather smart and deals with my babbling. I wave at Ino and Choji before laying down next to Shikamaru. I adjust the ever-present headphones sitting over my ears and get comfortable to enjoy the silence. The headphones rarely ever play music, I just like to wear them to muffle the sounds of the world around me. The heavenly silence is interrupted by the crinkling of a chip bag, followed by a repeated pattern of that and chips crunching. Choji is eating again. He always eats, there's never been a time that I can recall where he hasn't eaten at some point while we were around. I lift my head slight and turn to the right to look at him. I smile, though he can't visibly see it due to the mask around my mouth, but he's learned to tell through my eyes. He smiles back and his cheeks tint pink. I giggle lightly and look over at Shikamaru to find him fast asleep. It looks like more fun that what is currently happening, so I look around for something to use as a pillow. Nothing looks comfortable... until my gaze lands on his chest. It looks like it could be comfortable. I shrug and wiggle my body closer to his and lay my head down on his chest. I sigh and close my eyes, relaxing my body while keeping my ears alert. I hear Choji chuckle and Ino coo over us a moment later but I ignore them and drift off into a lucid sleep.
                              I sense someone coming toward us and recognize the chakra as belonging to our sensei, Asuma, so I bring my mind back to focus while keeping my eyes closed and body still. Steady breathing below my head tell me that Shikamaru is still sleeping soundly. Asuma stops before us and I can hear Ino whispering about us while Choji snickers.
"Hmph, cute." I hear Asuma reply.
"He works as a pillow; that is all." I state without opening my eyes.
"That's what I'd say too, Kaida-chan!" Ino says, and I imagine that she's sticking her tongue out.
The blonde's voice woke Shikamaru up, judging by his breathing. I feel him try to sit up, but quickly realizes I'm lying on him. I hear laughter, so I assume I flustered him or he's silently begging for help on getting me off of him.
"Ugh, troublesome woman..." He mutters.
I suppress a smirk and wait to see what his actions will be. I feel his hand awkwardly touch my head to lift it up and I feel him slide out from underneath me. While he's still holding my head up, I sit up and pretend that I just woke up.
"Oh, good morning Shika-kun! You're comfy."
His expression deadpans and I giggle before standing and facing the rest of my team.
"Asuma-sensei! What's our mission!?"
                    He takes a puff of his cigarette before explaining to us that we've been given the chance to compete in the Chunin Exams. He passes out the forms while telling us that participation isn't mandatory but all team members must agree or none can take the test. I roll my eyes when he tells us that there's a chance of death during the exams, as if there isn't a chance of death with most everything that comes with being a ninja. He finishes by telling us the exams start in the morning before letting them fill out the papers. I fill mine out without hesitation and hand it back. I have no family to worry over me so in the event of my death no one would be truly concerned. I look over at the others to find Shikamaru looking bored, Choji terrified, and Ino confident. Once the forms are returned, he releases us for the day to prepare for the morning to come.
"Good luck everyone! See you tomorrow!" I call out before hugging Shikamaru, who stands there awkwardly, then Choji who hugs back and gives me a chip. The two wander off into town, leaving me with Ino. Ino and I are considered good friends, mainly because Sakura is an annoyance to us, and Hinata and TenTen are hardly ever around. We're teammates as well, making it a natural bond.
Ino and I wander the streets watching the villagers perform their day to day routines. The day is warm with a slight humidity to the air, making people hurry to finish their activities so they can avoid the heat. The sound of screaming reaches my ears from behind us and I shove Ino out of the way in time to find Naruto running past us with a furious pink haired girl behind him. We both laugh as he repeatedly tells her he's sorry before he turns the corner. Lee and Guy pass by on the other side running laps.
"You like Shikamaru, don't you?" Ino asks, breaking our silence.
"He's a good friend and teammate, yes. I don't like him like that though."
"You slept on him." She retorts, shooting me a look.
"It was that or my head on the ground. I'd sleep on Lee's chest if it meant not having my head on the ground."
She shudders at the thought. "I'll let it slide this time Kaida."
"Are you worried about the exams?" I ask, looking up at her.
"Terrified."
"I'm not worried. We can do this!" I pump my fist in the air excitedly.
"You sound like Naruto."
At that moment, Naruto passes by again, still screaming and running from Sakura.
"No. THAT sounds like Naruto."
We laugh and watch them turn a corner again. We shake our heads as we come to a stop in front of my apartment. A funny look crosses Ino's face before she turns to me and asks about having a sleepover to relax for the evening before the exams. I shrug my shoulders and agree, watching as she heads off toward her home. I pull my key from around my neck and use it to unlock the door.
                              My apartment isn't much, sparse furniture in decent conditions, with more space than I truly need. The décor covering the walls consists of my various forms of artwork, music sheets, poems, song lyrics, sketches, paintings, etc. My favorite part of the whole house is the mural of photographs spanning the entire wall behind my sofa, covering floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Photography is one of my favorite hobbies, leading to hundreds of photos of friends, places, me, or just random subjects I'd chosen. I stare at the wall for a moment and smile before putting my bag on the table by the door and walking into the bedroom to gather clothing for a shower. I dig through the dresser and settle on a pair of black baggy pants and a dark red tank top. I grab a set of underwear and toss them on top of the pile before unloading all of the gear from my body. My dresser top is quickly covered from end to end with various weapons, most of which are only used for back up or emergencies. I take my clothes into the adjacent bathroom and strip down before stepping into the shower. When I step back out a few minutes later, I hear my front door open and close. I pause, waiting for any signal of who it may be.
"Kaida! I'm here!" I check the chakra signal to confirm that it truly is Ino.
"I'm in the bathroom!" I call back before quickly dressing. Once I'm dressed, I put my cordless headphones around my neck with the kitty ears adorning the top facing behind me. I then tie my forehead protector around my left thigh. I brush out my hair while pushing the door open so Ino can find me, then start to braid it back. I notice her come in the bedroom and set her stuff on my bed. She watches me finish the braid before asking what we're doing for the rest of the day and night. I shrug my shoulders and glance over at her for suggestions.
"Movie marathon? We can invite some people over and maybe play games or something?" She suggests.
"It works for me I guess. I'm sure a lot of people want to relax and kick back before having to focus tomorrow. Who are we inviting?"
I leave the bathroom and flop down on the bed next to her.
"Well, obviously Sasuke-kun-" I swear I can see hearts coming from her eyes... "Hinata, I guess Billboard Brow, Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Choji, TenTen, Lee, Shino, and Kiba?"
"Yeah! Let's go find people!" I grab my drumsticks from the dresser and tuck them in my forehead protector before dashing through the house to put on my shoes. Ino puts hers on as well and I lock the door behind us as we leave to find people.
                     As we walk down the street, we see Naruto running by again and I yell out for him to stop. He rushes over, looking jumpy and panicked.
"Hey Kaida-chan, Ino! What's up? Sakura's mad at me..."
"We noticed. We're having a get together tonight before the exams over at Kaida's, want to come?"
"Sure! I'll be there! BELIEVE IT!"
"GET BACK HERE NARUTO!!" We turn and deadpan as Sakura comes around the corner.
Naruto screams like a girl before darting off. I ask Sakura as she passes by and I hear her call out a yes before rounding the corner after the hyperactive blonde. We make our rounds through the village and eventually find everyone and they all surprisingly agree to come. On our way back to the apartment to set up, I notice a trio around our age that look unfamiliar to me. I nudge Ino and she stops her rambling to look in their direction. I squint and see that their headbands belong to the Sand.
"From Suna." I state, then check their chakra levels. "They're all decently strong chakra-wise, but the one in the middle... His chakra is like Naruto's. It's a very large and powerful presence. He must carry a demon."
"Creepy." She mutters, a shiver passing down her spine.
I roll my eyes. "I want to invite them atleast. They're guests in our village with no one but each other. Tomorrow is the competition, not tonight." I look up at her with a pouty face.
"Ugh, I suppose. If they get weird, they're leaving."
I stick my tongue out at her before walking over to them.
"Hi there. I'm Kaida."
They all turn to look at me, but the female is the one to speak.
"I'm Temari, that's Kankuro and Gaara. What do you need?"
I notice the one called Kankuro is looking me up and down but I ignore it.
"My friend and I are having a stress relief get together tonight before the exams. I wanted to extend the invitation to you three as well."
Temari looks excited, but her demeanor changes to nervous as she looks over at Gaara, the one with all the chakra. His expressionless face turns to me for a moment before he nods slightly.
"Yeah, we'll go!" She cheers. "What time and where is it?"
"Whenever you show up and whenever you want to leave. It's at the complex over there, 14B." I reply, pointing to the apartment complex visible at the corner.
"Alright. We'll be there."
                 Inside the apartment, I turn to her and ask how this type of thing works. She explains that we'll play some music, set out food and drinks, then start games and maybe movies later on. It all just works itself out supposedly. I trust her abilities and inspect my supply of food and drinks. Surprisingly, I keep a decent amount of food in my house though I barely eat. We fill the counters with food and drink before I leave her behind to go to the spare bedroom to find my music equipment. For the most part, it's simply a computer with speakers and the keyboard allows me to manipulate the tracks. I roll the table holding it all out into the living room and start it playing a random song. Ino turns to me a moment later with an odd look.
"I know this song, but who is singing?"
"Uhm, me." I reply, scratching the back of my head.
"No way! Prove it."
I roll my eyes and stop the song. I play it back through the first verse, letting her listen to the words and voice. I stop it, then sing the first verse back to her without the music.
"Kurayami wo motome odoru hyouruu
jinsei ten no hikari ni honrou sareru
kage no kibou hi no ganbou shiki no yosou setsunaru ishi
nami ni notte nami ni notte nami ni notte" 
I finish and stare at her with an 'I told you so' expression.
"Whoa. Since when could you sing?"
"Forever I suppose. I sing, compose, and remix tracks."
"You're so cool."