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

Chapter 25

    "Well the last you saw of me, you locked me in here so I couldn't go with you. I fumed for a few minutes before I gave up and sat down on the bed waiting to maul you when you got back. My bedroom door burst open about ten minutes later and I thought it was you until I saw the dark hair and saw Itachi. He told me that he was taking me with him, because someone else was after me. We fought through the house, then I ended up back here where I tried to write a message to you on the mirror, but he dragged me out before I could finish. We fought more until he knocked me out and I woke up in the Akatsuki base locked in a room."
She pauses for a minute, then continues to tell us everything: her escape attempt, her big fight, her friend, her death, more fighting, Itachi's explanation, the mission, and her escape. I'm in awe by the time she finishes talking. She took down almost the entirety of the Akatsuki without knowing their abilities and she survived dying at one point. Ino is sniffling at the end of the bed before launching herself at the girl. They hug each other for a minute and I finally realize something as I look at the two of them side by side.
"You lost a lot of weight Kaida. Your bones are sticking out."
She pulls away from Ino and sheepishly smiles. "Yeah, about that..."
"Did they starve you?! Those beasts! I'll kill them!" Ino rants.
"I chose not to. For a while all I did was train, the only time I stopped was when Kisame got through to me and I snapped back to reality long enough to eat the sandwich he brought me or to take a shower. If it weren't for him I probably would've starved to death."
"You need to take care of yourself. I didn't work so hard to keep you alive as kids for you to do it again, woman." I mutter, causing her to laugh and kiss my forehead, making a blush cross my cheeks.
Ino squeals excitedly and I groan. I forgot that she didn't know.
"When did this happen!? I feel left out!"
"He kissed me the day I was taken, before he locked me in here." Kaida explains.
"So you two are a thing! How sweet! I called it! I'm telling Temari!"
"We're not really a thing Ino. We uhm, can't really be a thing..." The last part draws our attention.
"Why not? You're back here now, so you two can be together."
Kaida subconsciously moves her hair to create a curtain between us, something she's always done when she's hiding something.
"What is it?" I ask gently.
"I-I'm not staying. I can't... Not right now anyways. The Akatsuki will want my head and if I stay here they'll instantly find me. Besides, there's a few things I need to do in the world. I'll come back and visit from time to time until I've done what I needed to and the Akatsuki have gotten over my disappearance. I just don't want to have you waiting around for me while I'm gone." My heart drops.
"You can't leave! You just got here. We'll uh, move you to a different apartment or you can come live with me or something. You can't leave us again!" Ino whines.
"There are other ways to protect you." I tell her, though I know there's no changing her mind.
"No there's not. You told me Tsunade wouldn't let you go after me and you said that she told you I'm not a citizen of the village. If the Akatsuki came for me, it'd just be the same or I'd die. I don't want to put you all in danger over my actions."
"I'll go with you." I blurt out without realizing.
"I'm not letting Tsunade sick the ANBU on you. Besides, you're a valuable asset to the village. You're going to do great things. I'll be alright, I'm just doing a bit of travelling, finding out where I came from, and stuff like that. I'll visit when I can. I will come back someday, I promise. This isn't forever."
I sigh in defeat before asking when she's leaving. When she tells me that it's tomorrow morning, my heart sinks. I only get one night with her before she's gone for a long time.
Ino stays a while longer talking to Kaida before heading back home to sleep. Their goodbye is tearful, girly, and troublesome. Just like old times. I hear the lock click before Kaida returns to the bedroom. She lightly grins at me before turning off the light. I move over to the side of the bed so she can lay down in her usual spot. Her hands fumble in the dark for her panda, something I'd always kept on the bed out of habit. Once she has it in her arms, I feel her turn over to lay her head on my chest. I lazily wrap an arm around her and sigh. It's nice to have her back, but it's hard to enjoy it since she'll be gone in the morning.
"I don't like it either, Shika-kun," She mutters sleepily. "But it has to be done. Let's just enjoy the time we have together... I love you Shika-kun."
"I love you too Kaida. Get some sleep." I run my fingers through her hair as her eyes slowly drift closed and her heartbeat slows.
I watch her for a few minutes longer before I feel myself drift off to sleep.
In the morning, I go to stretch, but feel something warm laying on me. I open my eyes to find Kaida literally laying on top of me, fast asleep with her panda clutched against her body. A smile crosses my face and I lean up to kiss her forehead. She moves a little before sliding off of me and onto the bed. I chuckle quietly as her face scrunches up in annoyance. My laughter must've waken her because her large brown eyes open slowly and she smiles at me. She mumbles a good morning and I return it. We lay there together for a while, trying to delay the inevitable. She'll be leaving soon. Our silence is broken when she squeaks out that she has to pee and scurries to the bathroom. I roll my eyes as she comes back out, calling the shower first. I let her before taking my own. Once I'm dressed, I go into the kitchen to make her some coffee and something to eat. While I'm cooking, I hear her moving around in the bedroom, packing I assume. I hear her come into the living room a few minutes later and I turn to find her trying to take the pictures down off the wall. I leave the food behind to stop her. She questions why I stopped her and I tell her that she shouldn't close the apartment for when she comes back. She thinks it over before agreeing with me, that way she wouldn't have to pack everything away. I promise her I'll keep an eye on everything while she's gone, then return to the stove to finish the food. We eat in silence and after the dishes are cleaned, there's nothing left to do to keep her here. She suddenly takes my hand and drags me to the front door, then forces me to put my shoes on. I shrug and go along with it, anything to prolong her leaving I suppose, though I have no idea what she's wanting to do. She leads me by the hand through the village and I finally recognize the path she's taking.
       We step out into the field and a smile crosses her face. She quickly pulls her mask down to kiss me before running off into the field, spinning in circles and giggling. It causes me to smile as I walk along behind her until we reach the center of the field, our spot. We lay down together in our usual positions and watch the clouds for a while. The sun has just risen, the bottom edge just barely over the horizon. We stay for about an hour before we head back home. Kaida disappears into the apartment as we enter, but quickly comes back with her camera in her hand. 

"I want to remember all of this."
She holds the camera out in front of us before pulling me into a kiss. The flash goes off and she grins before squishing her cheek against mine for another picture. She steps back away from me and takes one of me smiling at her. I catch the camera as she tosses it at me and commands that I take one of her as well. I comply and hand it back to her. We develop the film and hang them to dry as she finishes packing. When she's done, the pictures are dry and together we hang them on the wall. I hug her lightly and she returns it, slowly squeezing her arms around me.
"I need to go..." She mutters and I nod.
We walk out together, and upon my insistence, I carry her backpack for her until we reach the gates. We pause just inside them and I pull her into a tight hug, not wanting to let go. She squeezes just as hard and we stay like that for a while. She pulls away, then crashes her lips onto mine. I kiss her back and can feel her pouring her emotions into the kiss. We part and she hugs me again.
"I'll be back, I promise. I love you Shikamaru. Be careful while I'm gone."
"I love you too Kaida. You be careful, take care of yourself."
"Always."
"Happy Birthday, Kaida."
With that, she smiles at me and brushes a tear away before turning and walking out of the village. She turns back and waves at me before disappearing into the tree line. I wait a moment longer, staring out into the forest before running a hand across my cheek and walking back into the village. It's not forever...
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A/N: Tis the end my Lovelies. I hope it isn't as awful as I think it is when I read it. Drop a comment or message, or even rate it. Let me know your thoughts. A sequel is in the making. I wanted the final song to have something cutesy for the bittersweetness of the end, ya know?