• So now I’m feeling like a slave,
    I’m locked away inside of this grave
    And I’m hoping for a way I can be saved
    (I can’t be saved)

    How long Sakura stayed in his lap, Shikamaru didn’t know. It felt like hours before she finally stopped crying and actually fell asleep. No way in hell would he be able to move now.

    He glanced at the ceiling, as if it would give him answers. I’m going to Hell. There has to be a place there reserved just for me. He really didn’t want to think about the possible consequences he would face when Sakura woke up. If he shifted, she would groan a bit, and nuzzle closer to him. Why were women so hard to figure out? One could never know what exactly a woman wanted.

    “Why’d it have to be you?” he whispered to her, knowing she couldn’t hear him. All he had wanted was to settle down with a plain woman, have two kids, and retire. Where did he go wrong? He thought he had it all planned out. Fate could be so cruel.

    Sakura, on the other hand, had actually been awake when he asked her that question. It was kind of surprising. So…he was being serious? She moved slightly and ‘woke up’, causing Shikamaru to flinch. “Ngh, what time is it?” she asked in her best ‘I-just-woke-up’ voice. She wiped at her eyes rubbing off her ‘sleep’.

    He just shrugged, “Dunno. All I know it’s late.” Sure enough, she could see the sunset from her window. She sighed and stood up, moving away from him.

    “Don’t think that I’ve forgiven you just yet,” she said coldly as she sat back down on the bed. “I may believe Sasuke-kun will come back, but I know nothing will ever be the same. Take your stupid logic and leave.” She frowned when she saw that he was actually smirking. “What the hell are you smiling about?”

    He let out a small laugh, “Says the girl that was in my lap for the better half of the day. I think the one using ‘stupid logic’ is you.” Still smirking, he turned to leave. “Not that I minded or anything.” He stopped when he felt her grab the back of his collar.

    “And just what are you implying, pervert?” she growled. He turned to face her, and found that she was blushing.

    He scoffed, “What ever do you mean, Haruno-san? I was stating a fact, not an opinion.” His eyes were laughing at her, in a way that told her gotcha.

    Her face burned bright red. “Are you saying I’m the pervert?” her right eye was twitching out of anger, “You really have got some nerve, Nara.” She put her hands on her hips, “I suggest you leave. Now.”

    He shook his head, “There’s no f***ing way I’m going back to Kankuro’s apartment. Lea is hard enough to deal with.”

    “Lea? Is he married?” she raised an eyebrow at this. She had always thought that Kankuro wasn’t the type to settle down.

    He shook his head, “Lea is his cat and she’s…uh, infatuated with me.” He sighed, “That’s why I was late for the meeting. She didn’t leave me alone for the entire night.”

    “Tch, figures,” she said, rolling her eyes. After a few seconds, she sighed. “I’ll talk to Gaara to see if he’ll rearrange everything.” She stood and walked towards the door, “In the meantime, make yourself useful and try to convince the Elders about this marriage.” A second later, she was gone, leaving Shikamaru alone.

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    He didn’t exactly follow her orders. He did try to talk to them, but he found it too menial and pretty tedious, so he retraced his steps and found himself in her room again. The room was currently unoccupied of a certain pink-haired kunoichi, so he debated on whether or not he should stay. Where the hell is she anyway? It doesn’t take that long to talk to Gaara.

    He was right, but Sakura was currently busy trying to figure out how she should lengthen the engagement. Sure, it was not her place to do it, but…still. She had talked to Matsuri and the Suna kunoichi had agreed. She did want to marry her fiancé, but not that soon. So now Sakura was trying to get Gaara to agree.

    “Even Matsuri-chan agrees with me, Gaara-san,” she protested, but the Kazekage shook his head.

    “It’s not up to me. I may be the Kazekage, Sakura-san, but even I cannot change our traditions.”

    She stared at him, “Then why not start a new tradition? Or how about you both get married in Konoha?” She smiled, “Yes, why not?”

    He scowled at her, “I would if I could. Her parents want her married here in Suna,” he put his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together. “I find that Konoha has better settings than this barren desert. But traditions stands above all.” He turned away from her, a telltale sign that there was nothing more to be discussed.

    She got the message and left in a huff. And missed the devious smile on Gaara’s face.

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    Sakura walked down the hallway and paused before entering her room. Somebody’s inside. She took a kunai out and burst into the room. And stopped completely.

    A certain lazy ninja was currently on the floor, leaning against her bed with his eyes closed. Her grip on the kunai tightened. “Shi. Ka. Ma. Ru!” she stomped closer to him, “WAKE UP, DAMMIT!” she brought her hand down to smack him awake, but his own hand shot out to capture it.

    He slowly opened his eyes, “Took you long enough. I got bored, so I took a nap.” He let her hand go and stood up. “So, what took you so long?”

    Sakura gave him a dirty look, “I was trying to convince Gaara about his wedding.” She crossed her arms, “Anyway, enough about me. Did you do what asked you to do?”

    He rolled his eyes, “Do you really think I can convince them? Tch, typical. You always assume things are going to go your way. This is Suna, not Konoha. We are outsiders here, therefore we have no place to butt in.”

    “I don’t give a d**n!” she said. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, he always thought that Sakura was a nice girl who didn’t use bad words. Apparently, he was mistaken. He had heard her curse more times that he could count these past few days.

    “You’re interesting, you know?” he said, walking past her, “So, where am I supposed to sleep?”

    As angry as she was she had to answer that. “You’re sleeping three doors down from here. And next time, wait until I get here before you come in, b*****d!” And with that, she literally kicked him out of her room.

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    Shikamaru stayed out in the hallway for a few minutes, kind of shocked that she had actually kicked him. That proves it. Women are too troublesome to deal with. But…he stood up and walked down the hallway to where his new bedroom was, I can’t help but find her even more intriguing than before. Tch, what a drag.

    He stopped walking and turned around. I hate this. She’s so irritating, but why…? He threw open her door, catching a very surprised Sakura who had been in the middle of changing her clothes. “Shi-”

    “WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING, PERVERT!” she screamed at him, holding up her shirt to her naked chest. “GET THE HELL OUT!” He quickly obliged, shutting the door before the shoe she hurled at him could make contact.

    He slumped against the door, his face cherry red. Now I know I can’t be saved. It’s gonna haunt me forever. His mind suddenly thought it was necessary to conjure up the image of a half-naked Sakura. He buried his face into his hands. Dammit it all to hell and back!

    You know that there will come a day
    When I just gonna have to change,
    You know you're just another one of my mistakes
    Ahhh!