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

Chapter15

A/N: Sorry about this chapter and likely the next. There will be a lot of POV jumping, but I'd never gone back to work it differently. For the time being, jumps are marked by K and S, K for Kaida and S for Shikamaru. I will at some point fix this. 

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    A few weeks have passed since the funeral and Itachi's visit to Konoha. The Akatsuki was unable to capture Naruto and now he's back home with Sasuke and the new Hokage, Tsunade. We're all trying to adjust to her being here, but it's just not the same without the Third. Ino still comes by often to try to get me back to my old self while Shikamaru scarcely leaves me alone. He and I were both promoted to Chunin, the only two from the whole village. I look up from drinking coffee at my kitchen table when someone starts to beat on my door. I rush over and open it to find Shikamaru.
"Sasuke's gone. He's left to join Orochimaru. I'm making a team to go retrieve him, I don't know when I'm going back." He rushes out.
"I'm coming with you." I state definitively, dumping my coffee into the sink.
"No you're not. It's dangerous."
"Watch me. I'm a Chunin, same as you and just as powerful. You can't stop me." I walk past him and into my room to grab my gear. He follows me and blocks the doorway.
"Kaida, you're not going."
"He's my brother, Shikamaru. You can't keep me in a bubble, I'm a ninja and always will be. I'm going to get hurt it's part of the job."
"I can protect you from unnecessary danger. The guys and I have it covered." He states, crossing his arms.
I look up at him and scowl. "You're not in charge of me, you don't have to protect me. I've survived on my own this long."
"I know I don't have to, but I want to."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to see you get hurt."
"Well if I get hurt just look away that way you won't see it." I shrug.
"You're not going Kaida. End of story."
"You can't make me stay here Shikamaru. If you leave without me I'll just leave afterward."
He growls in frustration before reaching out and grabbing my arm and pulling me into a hug. I raise an eyebrow in surprise and look up at him when he lightly cups my chin. I close my eyes as his face leans toward mine. Our lips meet and I feel a strange feeling in my stomach, something like butterflies. My heart is beating a mile a minute as our lips move perfectly together. I don't know what this feeling is but I love it. When we part I feel my face burning red and his face is red too.
"S-Shika-kun?" I stutter out, lost for what to say.
"Look, I love you Kaida. I don't want to lose you or see you hurt, so I'm going to do what I can to protect you. Please just wait for me here and I'll be back as soon as possible. I'll bring Sasuke home."
My heart stops at his first sentence. He loves me. Shikamaru, the lazy complaining guy who never speaks his feelings, loves me?
"I-I love you too Shikamaru, I always have... But I'm still coming with you whether you like it or not."
"Don't hate me for this, but I'll see you when I get back."
"Hate you for what?"
He doesn't answer, just lightly pushes me back out of the doorway and shuts the door behind me. I hear him stick something to the door and I curse when I realize what it is. He sealed the door so I can't get out. I rush over to the window to find another on the outside of the window. I growl out of frustration and punch the wall.
-S-
     I feel bad for leaving Kaida behind but I can't risk her getting hurt out here. I can make it up to her later. I can't believe I kissed her and I told her I loved her. Ugh she's so troublesome. Focus Shikamaru, I can deal with it later. I meet up with the others at the gate and just before we leave, Sakura runs up and begs Naruto to bring Sasuke back because she couldn't make him stay. He promises her and we take off into the forest. We travel for a while before catching up to Orochimaru's henchmen. Choji stays behind to fight the first one to stop, then Neji. We stop in a clearing after catching up with the remaining sound ninja. Sasuke takes off into the woods with Naruto following and Kiba launches himself at the set of twins, leaving me with the red headed girl. As the fight continues on, Kiba and I realize that we're struggling to keep up with them. At this rate, we're probably going to lose. I hear something behind us and turn momentarily to find the Sand Siblings coming to help. Temari joins me in fighting the girl and we quickly bring her down. Kiba and Kankuro take down the twins and I realize that Gaara had left as well. Kiba decides to head back to check on the others while we continue on. Temari asks where Kaida is but I shake my head. When we reach the next clearing, the enemy is dead and Naruto and Sasuke are nowhere to be seen. Gaara is standing nearby with Lee staggering around next to him. I'm not sure I want to know why Lee is here or how he got here... When I reach Lee, I realize that he's drunk. I force him to sit down with a sigh and give him water to drink. We continue on to find Naruto unconscious with Kakashi and Pakkun standing over him. Kakashi turns to us and sighs before gathering Naruto in his arms. Sasuke's gone.
We return to the village quietly and along the way find that all of us survived. Sakura is waiting at the gate with hope on her face. I shake my head and she bursts into tears. I pass her and follow the group into the hospital. My only injury is a broken finger, something that isn't much to fix. I leave them behind and head home to let my mother know I'm back. When I walk in, she looks me over to make sure I'm not dying before she heals my finger.
"I quit. I'm not going to be a ninja anymore." I state.
"Why?"
"I put my friends in danger and they almost died. Sasuke got away and we failed." I feel myself break down and cry.
"You shouldn't quit, Son. A team on a mission without you can have many casualties, while a team with you can have no casualties. You have the intelligence to be a great leader, you should keep going." I look up at my father as he walks in.
I think his words over carefully before nodding. I'll get stronger and better. I can keep Kaida safe and lead people when I'm needed. I'm just being stupid. I walk out of the house and head towards her apartment. I need to remove the seals and deal with her being mad at me. I open the door and am greeted by her house looking ransacked. My heart drops and I run down the hall to her bedroom door. The seal is gone and her door is off the hinges, but it looks blown inward like someone kicked it from here. She didn't do it. I call out her name as I search the apartment for her. The mirror over her dresser is shattered and there's blood running down it and more on the walls. Weapons are scattered around the rooms, some embedded in the walls and floors with others just laying around. My heart stops as I walk into the bathroom to find 'Aka-' written in blood on the mirror.
"Kaida? What happened to your house?" I hear from the front of the apartment. It's Temari.
I don't answer, choosing instead to walk back into her bedroom and pick up her panda from the floor.
"Shikamaru? What happened? Where's Kaida?"
I turn to find Temari, Ino, and Gaara all standing in the doorway.
"She's gone. The Akatsuki took her." I mutter quietly before sitting on the edge of the bed. I can't feel my legs.