In His Shadow (Shikamaru x reader)

5. Return of the Dragon

I woke up in a cold sweat, still in the clothes I had been wearing all day. The digital clock on my nightstand read .3:56 in a bold lime green font.

I groaned as I forced myself to sit up and change into pajamas.

The dream I had... it felt so real. I could still feel his lingering touch, the warmth of his finger tips on my skin. But I just knew none of that could ever happen. I didn't have the baby anymore, he didn't know he was the father, and he didn't even love me.

After putting my pajamas on, I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't. Not even when I laid my head on my new stuffed animal. I decided to walk around the house and saw a light on in the living room.

My dad was there on the couch smoking from his pipe.

"Couldn't sleep either?" I asked as I sat down next to him.

"I sensed an unbalance in our home. I guess in a way, I knew you, too, were uneasy."

"Wait... really?"

"No, I'm just messing with you. I just never went to bed," He chuckled.

"Oh."

"What's bothering you?"

I let out a sigh. "Weird dream."

"What was it about?" He took another drag from his pipe.

"...him."

"Who?"

"Daddy, you know... him."

"Oh. Well, who knows, maybe you'll be seeing him again soon. The dream could've been a prediction." He shrugged.

I felt my chest tighten. "God, I hope not. I'm too scared to see him again." But at the same time, I really wanted to.

"Hmm. Well only time will tell," my dad said as he stood up. "You should try going back to bed. Don't you have training in the morning?"

I listened to my dad and tried to go back to sleep, but I just couldn't. Instead, I stayed up until almost seven reading one of my favorite books in the world. I knew pulling an allnighter wasn't good, but I was almost scared of going back to sleep in case I saw him again.

A frown grew on my face when I realized training was in less than half an hour. I really didn't want to go, but I didn't want to fall behind again.

I almost screamed when I saw the dark circles under my eyes. They made me look insane! After washing my face, I frantically put concealer on to try and minimize them. Once they were covered to the best of my ability, I freshened up a bit, then got dressed.

Looking at the clock once I reached the kitchen, I saw I was already a few minutes behind, so I figured I might as well be a few more minutes late so I could eat breakfast. I quickly ate a bowl of cereal before leaving.

As I made my way to the training grounds, my stomach twisted into a knot. I had such a bad feeling about today, but I tried to push it away.

"Nice of you to join us, (Y/n)," Kakashi-Sensei quipped when I finally made it to the field.

"Sorry," I apologized. "But I'm here now!" I gave my best smile. I frowned and went to stand with my teammates when he didn't return the smile.

"Hey, (Y/n), I have good news!!!" Sakura whispered to me.

"What's up?"

"I'll tell you later. Come to Ino's at around three and you'll see!" She grinned.

"Okay, I'll try."