One shot Naruto

They had been friends for a long time; attending elementary, middle, and high school together. They had been the best of friends. At first, it had been just her and Naruto, venturing through preschool and elementary school together.

And then Shikamaru appeared. With his lazy face and pineapple hair.

She'd seen it from the start, the way they'd snapped at each other, Shikamaru's indifference annoying Naruto. But beneath all the teasing, they'd formed a bond; understanding each other deeply. Caring for Naruto had become second nature to her, scolding him for overeating ramen or for his tiresome pranks he played on anyone who got in his way. And after a while, she'd gotten used to dealing with the lazy Nara and his strategic schemes, disapproving of his recklessness around Naruto.

It wasn't until his second year of high school that he felt a strange fluttering in his stomach one afternoon in the gym, while giving Shikamaru a good blow, realizing that Naruto had been encouraged to put itching powder on the soccer players. Naruto had run away from the coach before he could find him. He could still remember; Shikamaru's hand had gently slid over his hair as he looked into his eyes.

"You have chalk in your hair, you troublemaker."

That's what he'd said, his eyes looking at her with mild amusement, implying he was teasing her a little. Her heart had never beaten so fast in her life, she realized as she walked home with Naruto that day.

And then she'd started it. Noticing every little thing about him that she hadn't before. Paying a little more attention to him. Blushing while looking at him when he wasn't conscious. And it was in middle school that Sabaku no Temari fell in love with Nara Shikamaru.

Time passed, and she started high school. And with that, her feelings for Shikamaru grew stronger and stronger.

But her little secret was no longer a secret. She was cleaning the chemistry lab with Sakura when the green-eyed girl confronted her about it. She'd been a mess, blushing bright red and babbling nonsense. But in the end, Sakura laughed it off and assured her that her secret was safe with her. Of course, while Temari was composing herself, she didn't let it go; instead, she pried into Sakura's crush on Uchiha Sasuke. They'd spent that time teasing each other mercilessly.

With high school came the most anticipated event: the spring dance. The rules were changed. It would be the girls who would ask their partners to dance.

She'd been nervous and ecstatic at the same time. She knew who she wanted to ask. But the question remained: How? She'd watched from her table as Sakura boldly asked Sasuke to the prom, and of course, the boy's older brother had accepted without bothering to see his brother's red face. The sudden squeals from the other side caught her attention. She was slightly surprised when she saw Naruto standing in the middle of a crowd of girls with a nervous smile on his face. Then again, Naruto was a Namikaze; good looks ran in his genes.

Gathering up some courage, she decided to ask Shikamaru out at the gym. But all her hopes were shattered when she saw Inuzuka Hana demand to be her date to the prom. He'd agreed without a second thought. Feeling terribly annoyed, she asked Naruto to drop her home after leaving early.

So drowned in her misery that she hadn't realized she didn't have a date, just two days before prom. She'd cried into her pillows until Naruto showed up with her favorite ice cream, assuring her that he would be her date.

And so, high school ended, and the three went their separate ways. Naruto and Shikamaru went to the police academy, amazed by the Nara's audacity, while she began her psychology course at Konoha University. But they didn't let their separate careers affect their friendship. They decided to meet every weekend at the café near KU.

It was right there where they met her.

It had been a monsoon night with a light patter of rain, three years after their discovery when they met for their usual weekend getaway. Both boys had just graduated from the academy as full-fledged police officers, both partners.

Shikamaru had gone to refill his coffee, with his usual lazy gait and his nose buried in a tactics book, a habit he had picked up at the academy, when he bumped into the pale blonde girl with blue eyes.

He didn't know why, but he felt an unbearable sensation as he watched the girl blush at something Shikamaru said before picking up her fallen notebooks and running off. The way Shikamaru kept staring at her back didn't help either.

Two days later, when she found Shikamaru shuffling lazily through the hallway of her classroom, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips. The smile faltered slightly when he said he was there to meet someone else. Someone named Yamanaka Ino.

She knew who Ino was, a girl younger than her but already a year above her, the Yamanaka family was a family dedicated to agriculture and psychology, she was the most beloved apprentice of Dr. Ibiki Morino. Yamanaka Ino, already a renowned psychiatrist-interrogator even before graduation. But what did Shikamaru want from her?

The smile disappeared when he learned that Ino had been the cafe girl, as he'd nicknamed her in his head. Apparently, her green notebook had gotten lost with her family's shogi strategies at the cafe. He'd seen how the girl had practically shoved Shikamaru's book in his face, ranting about his lazy nature.

Her stomach tightened as Shikamaru pulled Ino closer, whispering something in her ear. The blue-eyed girl turned completely red before nodding and leaving.

She'd left after that, fuming with anger. She couldn't help but feel bitter toward the other girl as she walked toward her a week later, a jacket in her hands. Her jacket. Shikamaru's jacket. Ino was very polite and charming, and made her promise to return the jacket to its owner.

She didn't notice when their trio became a foursome, with Ino spending the weekends with them. She'd ignored Naruto's "are they doing it," desperately hoping that wasn't the case. But it was hard to watch the way their hands brushed against each other as they walked side by side.

The following weekend, when the four of them went to the nearby amusement park, she decided to confess her feelings to Shikamaru. And she succeeded. The timing was perfect. The two entered the Ferris wheel cabin, because Ino was afraid of heights and Naruto was hungry.

He let her go out with Shikamaru, telling her how he'd felt about her all these years. The moment he saw her eyes tilt down, he realized the answer was negative.

She didn't know how she'd managed to hold back her tears when she heard he didn't feel the same way. But she'd cried her heart out the moment she'd collapsed onto her dorm bed, sobbing. She'd spent two months avoiding both Shikamaru and Ino, skipping their usual get-togethers.

It wasn't until the fourth month that Naruto managed to take her to the mall with the three of them. A dull ache throbbed when he saw Shikamaru's hand wrapped around Ino's waist as they waited for her and Naruto. After a three-hour photo op and listening to Naruto and Shikamaru argue, he relaxed a little, enjoying their company and making small talk with Ino.

They were heading outside when they heard it. The first round of gunfire. The mall was under attack by robbers.

She didn't know who ended up there, in the middle of the crossfire, the only thing she realized was closing her eyes when she saw a bullet fired directly at her.

Bang.

She felt the warm wetness of blood against her, waiting for pain to come, but nothing came. She opened her eyes and felt her heart leap into her throat.

There, right in front of her, was Naruto, blood pouring from his waist as he protected her. She couldn't hear anything. Everything was a buzz. Her breath caught in her throat as she asked why. Why would he do that?

Naruto's response left her stunned.

'Because I love you, silly hime.'

Tears fell freely as she cried the hardest she'd ever cried, feeling the dull ache intensify in a completely different way. She wept deeply, clutching her body tightly in the midst of this chaos.

She may have had feelings for Shikamaru, but now she realized what had been right in front of her all along. It was Naruto she loved more than anything, not Shikamaru.

And it was in the midst of the chaos that Sabaku no Temari realized her love for Namikaze Naruto.

But it might have been a little too late, her mind mocked. It felt like she'd lost everything. She couldn't die. She couldn't leave her behind like this. Her screams grew louder as she felt someone pull her away from his body. She could hear in the haze the voices telling her to leave Naruto, but she couldn't. And then the voice cleared.

He was alive.

Naruto was alive.

The next few hours were a daze as he waited outside the operating room, his head buried in Shikamaru's chest and Ino's embrace as she continued to cry. They weren't allowed to go with him. Instead, his grandmother, Dr. Tsunade Senju; his father's mother; was in the room, gowned and masked, during the surgery to remove the bullet, saving Naruto.

And when Tsunade came out with a smile on her face, she couldn't help but rush towards the woman she was looking at with great respect, murmuring 'thank you' at high speed.

Thirty hours after the operation, when Naruto woke up, she was there holding his hand, whispering, "I love you." And when he joked that it was time for her to realize it, she knew he would be okay. He would be there. With her.

And five years later, as she walked down the aisle in the white of a wedding dress with Shikaina, Shikamaru and Ino's adorable three-year-old daughter, behind her holding a pretty bouquet of roses, he stood there at the altar with a goofy smile on his face.

It was right there.

With her.

Forever.