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PART 6: Never Give Up! Pushing Towards Freedom!!

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Shikamaru had only been living in Sunagakure for about four lifetimes. Well, four months literally, but it was the feeling that counted more than the logic. We'll just say that the Sand Village hasn't made him the happiest of campers.

For the first time in who knew how long, Shikamaru was able to step into some comfortable clothing without a single trail of perspiration running down his temples. The Chuunin exams were about twelve hours away, so his personal Jounin instructor finally decided to cut him a break and call it a day early. Shikamaru took this fortunate opportunity to nap, bathe, even nap while bathing. Afterward, he only ached from head to toe and felt as though every speck of energy had been beaten out of him, so a night of well-earned rest was definitely in order, after a snack and maybe a book.

Shikamaru had a sandwich and a glass of milk, happy to taste something other than sand for a change. Afterward, he vacated the kitchen on spotting the sun fading behind the mountains through long, ovular windows. There was a beautiful view from every window in the Kazekage's residence. However, the sun and he were not the greatest of friends. He'd been experimenting with his shadow technique to see if he could concoct a sort of self-made shade to protect himself from the sun so long-sleeved tunics and heavy cloaks didn't have to. He had no such luck so far, but he was working on it! Every little way to make the heat more bearable counted.

And that's just natural means of torment, thought Shikamaru as he wandered through the halls. His Jounin instructor made every waking moment of his life sheer Hell. It was bad enough that the Jounin assigned personally to him was a woman. Leave it to Temari to push all of his buttons, not that Atsuko-sensei didn't do a damn good job of that herself. She was the kind of Jounin that only dealt with 'special' cases. Apparently Gaara almost ended up in her care, rather than being placed on a team with his two siblings as he was. Having been told that, Shikamaru was right to expect the worst. His muscles were still screaming about it.

Shikamaru reached his destination. He still hadn't a drop of sweat to speak of on his body and he was going to keep it that way. The Kazekage's private library was located on the bottom floor, a sort of basement-like accommodation. It was the coolest room in the place. He'd often sneak down there and grab a nap, as very few had access to the area. It wasn't like Gaara would kill him for wanting to rest every now and then. Well, technically he could, but he cared just enough for Temari to spare her feelings. Shikamaru supposed the guy really had changed.

Speaking of change, Shikamaru wondered what had driven him to come this far. Sure, he'd fucked up and paid for it with his life, and yet it felt as though he'd given more than that. That damned Atsuko. He wondered what Asuma would have thought of her. On the first day of training Shikamaru fired up a smoke, and she manipulated the ground into the shape of a fist. It gave him a mean uppercut, knocking the cigarette right out of his mouth and leaving behind one mean bruise. She told him that the next one he lit up would be knocked out with a few teeth to keep it company, fucking bitch. He hadn't smoked another cigarette since, not that it mattered. She had him doing so much that he'd been too exhausted to acknowledge when he was having cravings. Rather, he did notice, but couldn't be bothered to care. It was either train or sleep, train or sleep, with barely enough short time intervals to fit eating and taking a whiz into the schedule. This must have been what being a slave to one's own stupidity felt like.

At the beginning of training, Shikamaru was left to survive out in the desert with one kunai and a pocket-sized desert survival manual for a week. Sand was quite troublesome, absorbing blistering heat by day, then growing brisk by night. He was trapped between two natural extremes, for one. Also, finding food and water was a pain in the ass. For meat, he had the options of gerbils, snakes that weren't venomous, or certain types of insects. He insisted that he'd rather starve. That only lasted about three days, though, damn it all.

At least Atsuko was nice enough to stick him by an oasis and a few cacti. After all, he was only a Genin.

Afterward, she came to get him. Despite the burns, misery, and malnutrition, Shikamaru thought he'd done pretty darn good. Atsuko found him competent enough to survive for a total desert novice. That was nice, he supposed.

That was the easy part, though. When the two were assigned actual missions, she thought it'd be fun to make a game out of things such as Bug Duty. He now could possess over a thousand roaches and kill them in the blink of an eye. It was a skill he totally couldn't have lived without, really.

You could fry an egg on most lower-class homes, hot as fuck as they were. Every drop of saliva seemed to evaporate from his mouth on a regular basis, and half the homes smelled like rotten ass, especially after exterminating the roaches. The worst part was having to clean the carcases up, which Atsuko-sensei also made a game of (whoever cleans the most in the span of thirty-seven seconds is treated to lunch. Oh, his poor wallet.) She loved to play. She also loved to bitch at him for being too slow.

Taijutsu training was her favorite, mostly because she was quick as the wind and, like the wind, appeared invisible in her attacks until it was too late. This woman put Rock Lee to shame. The object of this game was to be able to block her invisible attacks and try and possess her with his shadow. To this day Shikamaru hasn't been able to possess her. He's been able to study the power of her strikes and blurs of her speeding figure, but that's as far as he'd come. Apparently it was pretty damn good for a novice.

Today, after being able dodge every attack she threw his way, she recognized him as a worthy candidate of the Chuunin exams. He collapsed to the ground in a perspiring heap and thanked whatever deity watching over him that this torment was now over.

With a book placed over his eyes, Shikamaru thought he might take another nap. Just thinking of what he'd been through these past few months made him tired. Funny, for all that he was needed here in Sunagakure, he hadn't seen much of Temari. He saw Gaara every day, and each mission he assigned was as annoying as the last, but Atsuko seemed quite enthusiastic about them. Maybe she just liked watching others suffer, or maybe it was Gaara that enjoyed his suffering. It was as though he'd compiled a list of Sunagakure's Most Hated Missions and assigned them to Shikamaru.

Despite having to treat Atsuko-sensei a countless amount of times, Shikamaru still had a small fortune in his name. Temari, having been one of the higher-ups all her life didn't need the money, but Shikamaru was glad to have it, just because.

The baby was due any day, now. Any moment, really. Aside from his training, another reason he hadn't seen much of her was because she was ordered to have lots of rest. If she wasn't stuck doing office work, she was stuck in bed sleeping. He wondered why that bothered her so much. After all, if he were in her shoes he'd do nothing BUT rest! Carrying all that extra weight around, not to mention having a pair of concerned brothers breathing down her neck, and an ass of a father-to-be who was never around, that all had to have taken some kind of toll on her. He'd come across her shouting at Kankuro a few times, though he supposed that was just the family love there. She never would raise her voice at Gaara, though the Kazekage's word was absolute for the protection of his people; however, Temari was more than just 'his people'. She was his sister, and that meant something to him these days.

The people in this country really loved and respected her. Shikamaru supposed he should start doing the same before the people grew dubious of their relationship.

Love. Shikamaru rolled that one around in his head a few times. He certainly wouldn't call what they had in the beginning 'love', not by a long-shot. Although, Shikamaru was just a simple kind of guy. He couldn't be bothered to make a big deal out of something so trivial. On the flip side, he had given up his home all too easily just to come here. Maybe not easily, but the decision he made was a concise and absolute one. Even after all the crap he'd been through since his arrival, he couldn't say he regretted it, even if it all turned out to be more troublesome than the alternatives would have been. He couldn't imagine things being any other way, though. Unlike Konoha, in this village he felt more driven. Shikamaru had goals he wanted to meet, not just for the baby's sake, or for Temari's, but for himself. There was nothing he particularly wanted out of life other than simplicity, a select few buddies he could trust, and the occasional bit of excitement here and there. Also, he wanted to be a good person that his loved ones could depend on. If that meant he had to go back to being a Chuunin, that's exactly what he'd do.

He could get all that just as easily here as he could Konoha. No, he didn't like Suna nearly as much. It was hot, buggy, miserable, and the people were a far cry from charming. He missed dorking around with Chouji and Ino who weren't just his team mates, but the two best friends he'd ever had. He missed all the buddies he made at the academy, pain in the ass as some-coughNarutocough were. He missed his parents, even if his mom was hag and his dad was a dork. He missed the idea of being able to give Jiro a hand once he started attending the academy. Geez, he fucking missed Tsunade, in all her psychotic, drunken glory, though he insisted he wouldn't.

Missed them as he did, he had no desire to give up and turn back. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he wouldn't. The best thing that ever happened to his dull life was Temari, so now he had to be the best thing that's ever happened to her in return. He supposed that counted as 'love'. Yeah, he's stuck with her now, he might as well love her, too.

On that thought, the one he loved just happened to be standing there right in front of him. He'd detected her presence for awhile, but when a smile crept its way across his face, the binding of the book he'd placed over his eyes was pinched shut and pulled from his face. Temari tossed the book aside and placed her hands on her hips, observing him with a smile on her face.

"Rough day?" she asked. His eyes bounced from her face, to her stomach, to her face again. He had grown anxious of the baby's arrival. It was due, the doctors estimated, three days ago, meaning it could arrive at any time. Temari had been bed bound in that time, and where Shikamaru had been wanting to see her, Atsuko kept him busy to the point of passing out in the middle of training. Were these Chuunin exams really going to be THAT tough?

Looking up at her, he supposed the gentleman in him should stand and offer her his seat, but if she wanted it she would have taken it by force, pregnant or otherwise. When his legs stopped feeling like jello, he at least pushed himself upward and stood beside her. Her ankles weren't in good shape, and where her expression hid it well, every other part of her suggested otherwise. Tough as she was, Shikamaru wanted her to take it easy just as much as everyone else did.

"Sit," he said.

She just kind of glared at him, rolled her eyes, and sat. Yeah, he knew she got this a lot, but he could only imagine what it felt like. Being pregnant looked like a it sucked a lot and, well, he wanted her to be as comfortable and she could be.

Moments of silence ticked by. It was already one in the morning, so nap number two or three came in somewhere between him contemplating the hell he went through with Atsuko-sensei, then how he felt for Temari.

"I've done nothing but sit all day," she murmured, rubbing the big bump of her belly thoughtfully. For someone who's done nothing all day, she sure looked exhausted, pained, worried even. "I want this all to be over with."

"It will be." She didn't seem to mind when he took her hand, so he just held it in both of his and leaned his forehead into it. He wasn't good at this affection thing, but he had to do something. She was so... she was different this way. Well, yeah, in some ways his mom was, too. Pregnancy was such an odd thing, but this... this really was something else. This was his child, and this was the woman he loved carrying said child. It was troublesome, but there was much he had to learn and put up within the years to come. "The exams are tomorrow. Maybe I'll be recognized as a Chuunin before, you know... "

"Atsuko-san says you've been taking her curriculum very seriously," said Temari. She seemed pleased. It would explain why she wasn't here to reprimand him for lazing about in the library when he should be in bed sleeping. "Don't let that blind your judgment, though. You don't know what you're going to be up against tomorrow so you'd better be prepared.

"Please don't die," she said in a voice barely below a whisper, if such a voice existed. Those words got a good squeeze on his heart, though he didn't let it show. After all, Temari was the woman. She needed to be the emotional one right now.

Shikamaru half-expected there to be tears in her eyes, but even in such a vulnerable state that just wasn't her. She didn't bother to mask the hurt and worry in her demeanor, though. Oh, come on! He could sweep the floor with those wimpy Genin. Well, okay, Sabaku no Gaara was a 'wimpy' Genin at one point, so he supposed he shouldn't underestimate his opponents. Still, he felt Temari was worrying for nothing.

He got down on his knees and rested his head in his arms upon her lap. He would have liked to have his head closer to her belly, but she was a petite girl. What she lacked in abdominal length she made up for in legs. He always thought she had the best damn legs in the world, but now he was cursing their length. Ah, oh well. Long as they were, they were still the best, and they were all his.

"Tell you what," Shikamaru said to the arm of the chair, though he was talking to Temari. "I won't die. I'll do whatever it takes to become a Chuunin."

His eyelids lowered, and he took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he dared to ask next.

"If I become a Chuunin, you will become my wife. Does that seem like a fair deal?"

Silence. Well, okay, he supposed that the worst that could happen was her killing him right on the spot for being so bold. He figured they'd arrive at this point eventually, better sooner than later if you asked him. When her pregnancy finally went public, the village wasn't too reluctant to accept it. Konoha was Suna's greatest ally, and Shikamaru was seen as a valuable asset to the village. He supposed he'd be part-school teacher and part-battle adviser; same damn thing as Konoha, basically. No one seemed to respect his happiness.

Having a wife and kid would make up for it, though.

There was a sharp intake of breath from above which startled Shikamaru right to his feet. Temari looked like she was in pain. It... it must have.

Oh shit.

"You need to get to the hospital, Temari."

He helped her up out of the chair, and yet all she did was sink into his embrace. Rather, it wasn't an embrace, so much as her hands clutching each of his shoulders and her forehead leaning into his chest. He gave her arm a few good rubs, trying to be as patient as possible as she was getting a hold of herself, though in all actuality he felt as though he were about to faint. It was starting to happen, and he didn't really know what to do. Brother-to-be and father-to-be were entirely different things here!

He did the only thing he could do, and that was wait for her to relax before he could start going crazy.

"Shikamaru." She pried her head from his chest and looked him in the eye. This was a no-room-for-argument type of glare, was it? Not that he would; it wasn't like he was the pregnant one or anything, but that didn't stop him from being nervous. "Get Kankuro and tell him to come straight here. Afterward, you are to go straight to bed."

"Te-"

"Punch yourself in the head as hard as you can if that's what you have to resort to to get a full night of sleep. You're going to need it. The Chuunin exams are at ten, don't be late. Finish as quickly as you can and do your best. Next time I see you, I want you in your Chuunin vest. I want you back where you belong.

"There's no other way I can accept you... your proposal, you understand."

He did understand. He understood that all women were the same, what with their significance and other BS, and their being impossible and troublesome. The difference between Temari and all other women, however, was that Temari was his woman. If he had to bend over backwards to make her his, he would. He at least owed her that much.

"If that's how it's going to be, I will. I'll become a Chuunin, or I'll die trying."

"You won't die!" she snapped. "You'd better succeed, no matter what!"

"If you say so. Take it easy, you've got more important things to worry about," he said, and in a fit of madness his mind could no longer process her earlier request. Something about Kankuro and punching himself in the face, was it? Or punching Kankuro in the face? There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight, at least not until Temari was safe in the hospital wing, prepared to give birth. He had to get her there. He had...

He got as far as the library's main entrance before seeing stars, and the feel of her wrist gripped in his hand slipped away just as quickly as his consciousness.

---

"You called?" said Gaara, appearing in a wisp of sand in the library's doorway. Now, when faced with a problem Gaara would normally be the last person Temari would think to confide in. The guy had enough of his own problems to fit into about three or four lifetimes, but for whatever reason his name just kind of slipped from her lips, and there he was. Good. He wasn't prone to panic, so maybe, just maybe he'd listen to reason.

"I apologize for bothering you, but," started Temari. Then she lifted the limp, unconscious figure of Shikamaru by the shirt, and tossed him to Gaara. Albeit awkward, Gaara managed to get Shikamaru's body into a sort of half-hold, one arm around the waist being his only support. Before Gaara could question her, she continued, "that was being a problem. Please place him somewhere where he can rest for the night. He's got a busy day tomorrow."

"You look distressed," said Gaara, now with a better grip on Shikamaru's still form. He could see the bruise forming where Temari had struck to knock him out. She clearly wasn't in the mood to be argued with at the moment. Nevertheless, Gaara pressed on with thoughts of his own. "You ought to go to the hospital, now."

"No kidding. Just do as I ask, please, and keep an eye on him. I'm more concerned for him than I am for myself."

"He's not the pregnant one."

"Gaara! JUST GO!"

She had raised her voice at him. She had her finger pointed toward the door. If eyes could breathe fire the entire village would have gone aflame in her gaze. Temari was out of her mind, but that and being pregnant seemed fairly interchangeable. She wouldn't tolerate this any longer. She wanted Shikamaru in bed asleep. She wanted him ready for the trials tomorrow would bring. She needed Kankuro here. Now. Not to mention the little bugger in her stomach was coming out TONIGHT if she had to freakin' claw it out from where she was standing. Dare she think it'd be the first grotesque thing to ever disturb Gaara? Oh, oh she certainly did.

"Don't shout at me, Temari."

"Then do as I say, for the love of-ow fuck-"

The kid must have heard the remark in her mind about her clawing it out because it seemed more eager to come out, now. Men were so useless, and now Gaara of all people was no fucking exception!

"Temari."

"Send Kankuro here, he'll look after me. You look after Shikamaru." When Gaara didn't respond, she filled the gap of silence with a long sigh and had to refrain from tearing out her hair in chunks. "I'd get on my knees and beg if that's what it took to get through to your thick skull, but that'd be kind of difficult in my state, don't you think?"

"Yes," said Gaara. He wasn't quite used to being anything less than the absolute boss, so for his sister to bark very blatant orders and insults at him startled and confused him a bit. Nevertheless, she was usually right, and now didn't seem like an exception. So whatever held him back from adhering to her request, well, he'd just have to suppress it. "I suppose it would be.

"Very well. I'll have Kankuro escort you to the hospital wing. You're not to leave there until the medics release you and the child from their care."

"Right, right! Yes!" Although she was frustrated, she was also relieved that she had gotten through to him. Good boy. Now go babysit the worthless, possible husband-to-be while she popped the kid out!

"Thank you, Gaara."

His body and Shikamaru's vanished from sight the moment her gratitude came, and all she could do was wait for Kankuro to arrive. This was going to be a long night. She prayed that Shikamaru would make this all worth it by gaining back his Chuunin title. The marriage thing wasn't sounding half-bad, but he'd have to earn it first.

---

There were very little structures in this world Nara Shikamaru was incapable of napping upon. Where a set of bleachers wasn't exactly one of them, feeling his body all but smoke atop one startled him from his lethargic stupor and out into an arena.

At first he thought he was in some kind of horrible dream, but when he turned to face a line of seven possible opponents this morning, their bodies, both radiant in smell and in attitude, brought him to the conclusion that this definitely was NOT a dream.

It was a living nightmare.

Most of the patrons sat in silence, waiting for their Kazekage to announce the first first match-ups. Shikamaru was trying to recall what exactly happened that resulted in him asleep on some filthy bleachers speckled in sand, grime, and cigarette butts. Since he'd been forced to quit, a revulsion toward the habit seemed to form in him again, entirely against his will, of course. He liked to like smoking. Why did that have to change?

Temari complained about it a few times. Well, that would do it. Speaking of which, he fucking remembered! The library, the proposal, her... she...

The baby.

Oh crap, what was he doing? He had to-

:: NARA SHIKAMARU v.s. SWIFT ::

-it had to wait, now. He knew she'd kill him if he left, but how could he not?

Because she told him he'd die if he screwed up. If this Swift didn't kill him, she sure as hell would!

To make things all the more frustrating, Atsuko-sensei was making a point to take Ino's place in his life. She was cheering for him stupid, flinging insults at him, then cheering again. The rest of the crowd started to stir. A fair mix of boos and cheers came his way; however, most of the booing came from what Shikamaru guessed was Swift's team, which contained a guy who sort-of reminded him of Naruto at that age, same blond hair and shrill voice, but his face looked as though it'd been punched pretty far in at one point. If he had to guess, he'd say it were that girl with the long, green hair and tight lips that sent him that punch. Who else? Women were abusive, plain and simple. That was Swift's cheering squad.

Swift himself was a notably short boy. He couldn't have been any younger than eleven, given the tiny sprouts of facial hair that hung from his freckled jaw and chin. His height did suggest otherwise, though. From all this, Shikamaru wagered a guess that this boy was 'Swift' because he was fast. Having little height meant having little weight, and little weight was easier to carry. It was also easier to lose track of. If Shikamaru was correct, and he was about 95 percent sure that he was, this fight would end in five minutes. He hadn't been trained by a real speed demon all this time for nothing, after all.

Actually, Shikamaru had miscalculated. The fight ended in less than two minutes. Obviously somebody needed to sharpen this little guy's perception of the 'look underneath the underneath' rule because 'Swift' was so obvious that it was unreal. Now, Swift justified that with being exactly the point, thinking he could fool his analytical opponent into seeing more than meets the eye, when there was nothing to see. Clever, but not good enough. It was never prudent to completely disregard assumptions that seem too obvious. Shikamaru would have to keep that in mind from now on.

Thanks to that brat, he didn't even have to break a sweat this time around.

An hour later, his name popped up on the roster again. He was up against a freakin' woman. This woman had a cigarette in her mouth and liked to strut. She also blew a cloud of smoke into his face.

Pssh, oh please. That wasn't even remotely tough, considering some of the good shit he's tried, but he decided not to get into all that. If Temari didn't want him smoking then he wouldn't do it. It wasn't that great a sacrifice anyway.

Hmm, something was wrong, he thought. The smoke before his eyes refused to disperse, clouding his accuracy by about 80 percent. He saw shapes and colors, but he didn't see any movement. Where was the stadium? Where were the people? Why the hell did his head feel so heavy all of a sudden?

The smoke.

PUNCH. CRACK. OW.

Well THAT fucking hurt. It wasn't fatal, but the blood was trickling down his lip, and damn if he could afford to take another blow like that. He had to act and think fast. Was there any way to make this smoke disappear? Was there any way to bring himself away from the smoke? Was there any way he could keep her from attacking again? If only he could see her...

And then it hit him. He didn't need to see her to get her, just like... just like the cock roaches! For every one you see there are fifty you don't, but that doesn't change the fact that they must all be exterminated.

That's when his shadow possession dispersed into a million different directions, and the bitch was snared! He forced her to admit defeat, then told her she'd be a lot more attractive if she quit smoking. She cursed and stormed off.

Well, first match he didn't break a sweat, and second he sustained minimal damage. Not bad. If he didn't have two cracked ribs he'd be at 100 percent for his final opponent. Oh well, he'd just have to make do.

Now, unlike the last two opponents, the third sent a real nasty chill up his spine. The two of them were placed to face off in the finals. The only part of this Genin you could see were his eyes, but the rest of him was covered head to toe in black and mesh. He was completely silent, not exuding an ounce of adolescent confidence or ignorance. There was no freaking way this guy was a Genin. Hell, he probably wasn't even a Chuunin. There was so much more to him. So much-

But Shikamaru didn't have time to contemplate this. Go means go, and the match had begun. The guy seemed to be testing him, starting off as basic as one can get with kunai, shurikens, and taijutsu. Okay, no problem. Training with Atsuko-sensei sharpened his reflexes, so none of this guy's attacks were connecting. Shikamaru would find this pathetic, if an itch on the back of his neck weren't telling him to be extremely wary of what's to come.

That itch was correct. Somehow, Shikamaru had managed to be completely blind-sided by a binding technique this ninja had performed on him. He couldn't move his arms or legs at all, and he couldn't see exactly what it was that held him so still. All he knew was that he couldn't afford to stay this open to attack for so long, especially with an opponent who simply wouldn't voice his intentions. Well, duh, it was obvious what his intentions were, to kill, kill, and kill very slowly. One cut turned into two, following two came four, then eight, then, aaahhh crap! Hello, poison. Damn, did these Sand fiends like to play rough.

Okay, cool it. There was a way out of this. There was a way out of this because there had to be. He had no choice but to have a way. He had the happiness of a woman and a child riding on his shoulders. He...

"I... "

Nothing was coming to mind but the numbing, earth-shattering pain. How could he have underestimated his opponent so easily? More-so, how could a ninja this skilled end up in an exam meant for mere Genin-level ninja? The answer was there somewhere. While he was still alive and breathing, he would have to find it. He...

"I... "

Slice. Zwip. Slice. Zwip. Slice. It was like a song, now. If it weren't so painful, the consistent beat could be peaceful. He could hear peaceful music in his head, as a child in his arms was lulled to sleep. Jiro? Nah, Jiro wasn't that cute. But would he hold his child? Not at this rate he wouldn't. The more he was sliced and diced, the closer to death he came. The closer to death he came, the less his mind worked in his favor. Shikamaru had lost this match. He didn't tell Temari he would win, but he did tell her he would try. He also told her that he wouldn't die. He...

"I quit!"

... did the only thing he could do to survive.

---

He lost. He screwed up. All the while, he kept his promise to Temari. Shikamaru had the last of the poison drained from his blood, and medical ninja left and right worked profusely to seal his wounds and numb his pain.

It was no use. One way or another, no matter which way you looked at it, he'd been defeated by a mere Genin. He had done nothing in the final match but fall into a trap. To his defense, it was a very clever, albeit very cruel trap. He couldn't figure it out. His legs were bound to the arena floor by invisible chains, strings maybe, probably similar to those Kankuro used to control his puppets. His wrists were sealed tight as a lock. He could jerk his neck back and forth, but that was all he could do, at least until the poison made him weary. That match was a show of disgrace. No matter what arguments Gaara may propose to the committee, there was no way he earned Chuunin status. He gave up. He didn't even try.

The doctors assumed that the tears trickling down his cheeks were due to severe pain, so they injected another pain suppression serum into his blood stream and used more healing jutsus to keep the pain at bay. It actually helped a bit, but he still couldn't help but feel like he deserved every ounce of pain he'd been given on the battlefield. After all, this was a failure, and he'd have to remember it for next time, granted Temari allowed him a 'next time'.

A few hours later, Shikamaru was completely awake, alert, and out of pain. Physical pain, anyway. He'd argue that his opponent was not a Genin, plain and simple. In fact, he probably wasn't even part of the Sand Village at all, and should be investigated immediately. After all, any ninja who simply called himself 'Shadow' could be considered suspicious. Generic much? Oh yeah. This failure was definitely not his. He was set up. That's all there was to it.

Gaara entered the room just as Shikamaru was able to lift himself into a sitting position. The Kazekage seemed to be taking in every detail of his features, as if there were a mark or stain on his face, but he wasn't sure whether or not to say anything. Heh, Shikamaru was sure that there must have been a whole map of scars on his face, considering how his opponent seemed to hack at him every place imaginable. Yeah, he was sure Temari would be thrilled to see that.

"Temari said your vest size is a medium. Is that correct?"

Vest size? Oh. Oh whatever.

"Yeah."

Shikamaru couldn't figure out how Gaara managed to store an entire folded Chuunin vest into his robes, but that's exactly what Gaara did. Even more strange, he'd tossed the vest onto the bed and crossed his arms, as if he were waiting for Shikamaru to throw it on with little patience. Okay, either he was trying to pull something, or Shikamaru had actually, somehow, became a Chuunin.

"I screwed up," said Shikamaru, reluctant to accept the vest until he got some answers. "I quit the fight."

"You didn't give up on what was important," Gaara argued. He eyed the vest, then Shikamaru with a little more ferocity, as if he'd been waiting for this moment forever and didn't want it prolonged any further. The feeling was mutual, but still. This didn't sit right with him. Hadn't he just been completely owned by a mere Genin? A suspicious and freakishly powerful one, yes, but...

"He was going to kill me. Didn't have a choice... "

"I know," said Gaara. This time he bent forward and pushed the vest closer to Shikamaru. "You opponent was not a Genin. She was one of my most powerful and trusted ANBU bodyguards."

Another 'she', was it? That hit home even harder, didn't it? And one of the ANBU to boot! He fought a ninja beyond the level of your average Jounin and didn't die. Well, he didn't die because he gave up. Rather, he didn't give up his life because he knew it was fishy from the get-go. He knew his opponent was too powerful. He knew.

"When you said 'giving up is considered the greatest offense' you didn't mean that literally... "

"Yes, I did," said Gaara. "More specifically, giving up on what's most important is an offense. Giving up on what's insignificant is easily overlooked."

That was it! What was most important wasn't winning a one-on-one against one of Sunagakure's most powerful ANBU, but doing what was doing best. Doing what was best for his country, himself, his wife. Rather, his wife-to-be. Possible wife-to-be. His proposal wasn't exactly set in stone. Gaara seemed to be of the opinion that Shikamaru had done just fine and earned himself a Chuunin rank. Would Temari, though?

Well, he wasn't dead. He promised her he wouldn't die. He fulfilled that promise, and it wasn't easy, either! Could he stop being twelve, now? You know, instead of BS-ing around in Ninja Land, could he maybe bond with his family already?

Family. Surely the baby was born by now. Heck, it probably already had a name.

"The baby?" asked Shikamaru, pulling a vest on over his black shirt. Well, somebody must have been thinking of him to keep him out of those hideous paper robes. After all the crap he'd been through, it sure felt good to be wearing one of these vests again. Temari was exactly right about his size, too. She was good.

"Born an hour before you woke up this morning. Her name's Sunako."

Great, more troublesome women to put up with, just what he needs. Funny, he'd dreaded a girl throughout his mother's pregnancy. Next thing he knew, his brother Jiro was born. Lucky him! It didn't even occur to him to decide whether or not he wanted a boy or a girl of his own, though. Frankly, he didn't care, as long as he could be there.

Yeah, that's all that mattered. That, and getting the hell out of this stuffy room already.

---

The exhaustion of having to deal with being the brother of a new-born, or the trainee of Atsuko-sensei, was nothing compared to that of being a parent. A father, even. Oh, Shikamaru would never sleep again at this rate. The crying. The. Crying.

Although there were nurses up for hire to tend to the baby whenever Temari was ready to step back into action, she hogged her baby. Hell, if she's gonna have a kid she may as well get to be a mother for a bit. She used that to justify her 'temporary' disinterest in returning to the field when Gaara offered the option. That's all it was, an offer. He didn't seem lost or confused by Temari's decision to stay home a bit longer. Quite to contrary, Gaara'd been pretty interested in Sunako, too. Seeing Gaara hold a baby had to be the craziest freakin' thing Shikamaru had ever seen, but it seemed to earn him points with the old farts of the council. It definitely wasn't intentional, but it worked in his favor anyway. The once vicious, blood-thirsty Kazekage, now a loving uncle. What will they think of next.

Kankuro seemed disappointed that it wasn't a boy, and was put off by all the crying and diaper stench. Shikamaru couldn't blame him. It was something you just had to get used to. He got used to it with Jiro, and now he was readjusting for Sunako. No problem. The only difference was no longer having the option to crash at Chouji's house whenever it got too annoying. Not to mention he occasionally had to take over when Temari looked as though she were going to fall over and die from the lack of sleep. Something about leaving the kid to the nurses didn't sit right with him. Sunako was better off with actual parents, not caretakers.

Of course, this wouldn't last forever. The baby would have to toughen up sooner or later. By naming her 'Sunako' Temari totally wasn't dooming their child to become the next Kazekage at all. Keh, bullshit. That woman couldn't be anymore blatant if she had 'Daughter, Sister, and Mother of Kazekage' written all over her face in bold, red ink. Suppose Sunako didn't want to become Kazekage? Well, that was a story that wouldn't occur for quite a few years to come, if at all, but Shikamaru'd keep that to himself for now. Now was baby time.

Rather, it was baby's nap time. Once Temari had Sunako lulled to sleep, she caught him staring at her in the doorway. Her body was different, now. Different from what it was before she'd gotten pregnant. She was still thin and petite for the most part, but she had more hips and ass to speak of. Her hair was a picture of chaos, tied in one single, haphazard pony-tail. Her eyes sagged just the slightest bit in exhaustion, and a few more lines than he was used to creased her face whenever she turned her lips a certain way.

This wasn't the girl he'd met years ago, no. This was much different. This woman could indeed wield a fan of unworldly weight and power, could level many a village with hurricane-like gusts via said fan, and could turn your mouth off with a snip from her's. That was Temari. That was the Temari he was looking at right now, and so much more. This wasn't the girl from all those years ago that he couldn't stand. This was the woman he loved right this moment, hopefully forever.

"Shikamaru," she said, in that voice below a whisper that only she could achieve. This was a voice that didn't make him listen by force, but by grip. When Shikamaru was in such a grip, all he could do was stay put and let her put everything into words. Women liked to talk, after all.

"You." Temari approached him, leaning her head into the crook of his neck where she could nuzzle the vest. He suspected that she liked the vest more than him in that instant, but that was fine. After all, he was wearing it.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she relaxed, really relaxed into his embrace as she never had. Well, this was a good thing. Finally, a little less baby and a little more them, huh? Felt good.

"Thank you," she said, in the most sincere voice that she could muster. Her arms circled around his neck, tightening their embrace for good measure. "Thank you so much."

There was nothing to thank him for, but Shikamaru didn't feel like arguing at the moment. He let her have this one. It'd probably be the first of many arguments left unargued, just because it was Temari. Yeah, this had to be his mom and dad all over again, but it really wasn't that bad. Damn if his old man can beat him at a game of shogi, but he was right about this. Somehow, he was right.

Some stupid mistakes were just fine by him.

[ E N D

A/N: First of all, I want to apologize profusely for updating so late. I've recently started my first year of college. I'm a full-time student and am already swamped with work! So, yeah. It doesn't help that inspiration for this chapter just was NOT coming until that one day I happened to catch a head cold and, well, this chapter now exists thanks to that. I do believe I said pre-pregg0r smut and an Epilogue were possible. Possible, but not likely, given the amount of school work and work work I've got. If you guys really want me to squeeze some goodies in, though, you gotta tell me!! I've got more leisure time than I lead even myself to believe, really.

Also, I'm aware I'm about as good at naming children as J. K. Rowling is. XD Sunako's probably already been used, and if it hasn't been it should have! Come on, if Leaf's got a 'Konohamaru' then Sand's doomed to have a 'Sunako', haha. Oh man, I'm such a loser. Oh well, that's okay.

I hope you guys enjoyed this fic, for the most part. I think my next project'll be some nice Sandsib gen, or something more Gaara-centric because I loves him. -waves GaaLee and GaaNaru flag. gets shot- XD;

Be sure to check out my new C2 thingie Sandness (I'm so creative, rawfullawl). I'm very much obsessed with Suna-nin, be they as popular and badass as the Sandsibs and Sasori, or minor as Baki-sensei and Matsuri (I'm aware that she's an eeeevil filler-created character, but better that than a Mary Sue. :P)