partner project / you're nothing to me (shikamaru x reader)

chapter five

In quick action, square wood rushes forward, pushing the girl's kunai aside, but it still impales Shikamaru in a spot on his lower chest. I give Yamato a small thankful nod and rush forward to protect him from whoever it was. As I leap forward, I catch a glimpse of the girl. She had an ANBU mask on. As I process it quickly, I realize the ANBU mask is Hana's. I boil with anger, and whip out a kunai in protection, pushing her away.

"Y/n, don't interfere!" She scowls, landing on the ground. Yamato comes up beside me.

"This isn't the answer, Hana!" He says sternly putting out his hand in ready to defend my friend.

"Yamato, stay out of this!" She growls angrily at her lover. "And Y/n, if you won't allow me to kill him, I'll kill you too!" I gasp and ready my stance more and narrowed my eyes angrily at my sister. "I won't allow you!" I hear from behind Hana, and I look over her shoulder to see Shikaku.

"Ha! What a joke! It's the night, fool! There are no shadows to catch me!" She cackles, lunging at him.

"Y/n, take the boy. We'll finish things up here." Yamato instructed, and I rushed over and grabbed Shikamaru in my arms. As I jumped and ran to the hospital, my mind flushed with a million different thoughts. Can I change my wish? Please, whatever and wherever this hit, please let him be okay...

I take the kunai out of his stomach area and throw it on the ground as I continue to leap from building to building. I put my hand on his chest, feeling a slight pulse. If I can make it... I would use my Teleportation Jutsu except I can't handle more than one person. I just have to go as fast as possible...

I squeeze Shikamaru closer to me. "What a drag..." I hear his mumble. I laugh, but I can't tell if it's a nervous or scared laugh. Slips of water leak down my face and his hand slowly levitates toward me, his thumb tucked between my nose and eye, dragging the tears away.

"Ha...ha... I knew it was you, Y/n..." "Don't speak!" I painfully gasped. He chuckles softly.

I can make it...

I can make it.

---

I wake up to someone tapping my shoulder. "Ms. Sato, we have a report from Nara Shikamaru's room. Please follow us." I flutter my eyes open and see a nurse at my side. I look to my left and see Yamato, sleeping, a line of drool going down his face. But there's no time to snicker at something stupid like this.

I stand up and follow the nurse down the hallway, and we take a few turns before arriving in a room.

"Please be careful, and refrain from hitting the patient where he had surgery." She said. I bowed my head slightly.

I walk over and sit on a chair by Shikamaru.

"Hey, Shikamaru." Pshhhh, he's sleeping. What a little bitc-

"Anyways," I interrupt myself. "I'm here to talk to you, even though you're sleeping. I won't wake you up, but I guess I'll talk to you, and your Dad can repeat it later." I cough.

"What happened last night, I'm sorry that it did. I didn't know it would. I tried to stop her, as you saw. At least you're alive now, is what important. Your father caught my sister and took her to the Hokage, but she's escaped and became a rogue ninja. Now I'm staying with my big brother, Yamato, and he's been really supportive of everything. I'm just really glad you're okay; and after this, we can have sleepovers every day, okay? Haha, we can finish our project, and I promise to work on it more. I'll make it the best in the class, okay? I'll make it get the best grade, and I'll bring you food here every day until you're discharged. You got that, huh? You troublesome boy." I add a sorrowful laugh at the end.

"I'll come see you later, promise. Goodbye, Shikamaru." I walk out the door, but just as I do, I hear a slight rustling. "Huh?" I turn back over, but Shikamaru's still asleep. "Must be my imagination." I say, shaking my head and exiting.

---

"Yamato, may I go get some food to share with my friend?" I ask. "Yes. Just don't be out super late." Yamato said, putting groceries away. "Umm, may I get some money?" He blew out a puff of air, then turned around and slapped some bills on the table. "Go." I grabbed the money and left out the front door, running towards Shikamaru's house for a meal, pocketing the money for something else.

I knocked on the Nara door, and Yoshino opened it.

"Oh my, Y/n! I'm so sorry about what happened with your sister. But I tell you, we hold no grudge against you, dear." She said, patting my head sympathetically. "Make sure to tell my son I love him, okay?" Yoshino said sweetly, handing me a bag of food for him and I. I nodded my head happily, and I ran to the jewelry shop.

---

"I'm here for Shikamaru Nara." I say happily to the front receptionist. She nods and points down the hallway I had gone down this morning. I run excitedly to Shikamaru's room, and see Choji here already, standing at his side.

"Y/n? What're you doing here?" He asks, looking over at me. I can see a faint smirk from Shikamaru's face. That snide little brat. I stood beside his side when he got stabbed, you know!

"I brought dinner from the Nara house." I say, holding up the bag. Choji looks hungrily at it. "That reminds me, I've gotta go eat my third dinner. Cya, Shikamaru!" Choji says, dashing away.

I sit down and put a tray over Shikamaru's lap. As I look up at his eyes, he's smirking with one of his eyebrows lifted and arms crossed. "What?" I ask, pouting my lip at him. "Heh, nothing," He laughs. "I heard you earlier." I turn around, my face flushed with red.

"I, um.... here. Here's the food your Mom made." I stumble, pulling the bag out and setting his portion on the tray. I set mine out on a table and move it to beside his bed.

"How are you holding up? Is there any pain?" I pause before asking the last question. "Are you mad at me?" I bite my lip softly, tucking it under my pearl teeth. "Everything's okay, Y/n. I'm in pain, that's for sure but I know one thing," He stops playing with his food and meets eye contact with me. "You're a pain." I gasp sarcastically, taking his food away.

"Fine! I'll just take this food back to Yoshino, and I'll leave. Sorry to bother you, Mr. 'what a drag' and 'what a pain.'" I grab his food, about to stuff it back into the bag but he laughs as his hand reaches out to stop me, taking his food back. As we eat, I grab a box out of my pocket.

"Shikamaru, I know you're not a ring person. So I got you a bracelet." I said, pulling one of the two silver bracelets out. "It's cheesy, but it's a charm bracelet, so you can add charms on there. I've already put one on for both of us." I inform him, pointing to the charm on his bracelet. "Hm? A charm?" He leans forward and peers at it. "It's a star, cause, you know." I say, my face slightly turning a hue of red.

He thumbs the charm, and allows me to take it and clasp it onto his right wrist. "Thanks, Y/n." I put mine on too.

"You couldn't be a better friend."