royal // shikamaru nara

7

The last few days have been filed with Gaara and I getting to know each other, trying to rekindle the friendship we once had when we were kids. I've been trying to figure out who he is. It's been hard due to the lack of emotion his face carries but I want to know who he grew up to be because it was clear that the Gaara I once knew and the Gaara that everyone knows today are to seperate people.

I let out a sigh and roll to face the other side of my bed. It's the middle of the day but I haven't quite done anything yet and everyone was busy today so I was left with nothing to do. Everyone was out training for the next round of the Chunin exams and Gaara had Kazekage duties to attend to.

I let my mind drift to other places and I'm back to thinking about leaving Konoha again and the advice Naruto gave me a few days ago. When he wasn't happy with the life he was living, he did something to change that. What have I been doing to make a difference in mine?

I hesitantly crawled out of my bed and opened my wardrobe. I stare at it for a minute or two before my eyes landed on a huge duffle bag, hidden at the back corner. I slowly bent down to grab it and opened it up. The next thing I knew was that I was grabbing everything I would need for a couple of days since I did have plans to coming back here eventually. I just feel like I needed to do some, I guess you can call it 'soul searching'. I zip my duffle bag up with a satisfactory sigh and drop it on my bed.

I make my way out of my house and too the little shops along the streets as I felt like i needed to buy a thing or two before leaving. I bought a sleeping bag, tent, flashlights, rope and a kunai knife for safety purposes. Now, I don't actually know how to use this thing but I figured it would come in handy in the long run.

I run back home and shoved everything I bought in my duffle bag then headed to the kitchen to cook some dinner for myself as I knew I wouldn't have the luxury of eating a home-made meal while I'm on the road.

Once I finished I headed back to my room and killed some time as I knew I could only leave once the streets were empty and everyone was asleep. It would be the only way I could leave without anyone catching me.

It felt like hours before the clock stuck midnight and when it did I was already halfway out the door with my duffle bag slung on the shoulder and a kunai knife strapped around my waist. I quietly brisk walk to the gates of Konoha when I suddenly couldn't move at all.

"Where are you going?" A voice that I haven't heard in a while say and in that moment I felt myself melt into his voice. I suddenly was turned around and was faced with a concern Shikamaru who held me in his famous Shadow Possesion Justu.

I let out a sad sigh and look at him in the eyes. His eyes were filled with sadness and concern and it broke me. "Why are you leaving?" He asks since I ignored his first question. "I just wanted to get away for a while." I said as i looked down on the ground.

"You can't just leave Konoha" He says in a defensive tone that triggered me. "And why not?" I retorted, feeling the need to cross my arms but at the moment I couldn't exactly move. "You just can't!" He says, still not giving me a valid reason. "Why do you care? You've been avoiding me for weeks! You can't just leave and come back in my life whenever you please!" I answered back as my voice slowly started getting louder.

"Who said I left?" He calmly says as the sad look in his eyes started to return as his Shadow Possesion Jutsu was begining to wear off. "Doesn't matter anymore, cause I am." I strongly say as I walked away but stopped in my tracks when I heard his sad voice, "Don't go" He said.

"Then tell me why, why haven't you bothered to acknowledge my existence the past few weeks?" I said defensively but deep in my heart, I knew I was on the verge of tears. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing ever came out.

I walked away and didn't look back because I knew myself enough to know that the sad look in his eyes were enough for me to stay.

I continue to make my way to the gates of Konoha as I let a tear or two fall along the way. I wanted a valid excuse as to why Shikamaru has been ignoring me the past few days and as I got lost in my own thoughts, that was when the realization hit me. I liked the boy.

As I kept thinking about the thought of liking him, I didn't even notice the person standing in front of at the gate. "Gaara?" I asked, confusedly. "What are you doing here?" I asked as I was trying to push my duffle bag behind me, hoping he wouldn't notice since it was already dark out.

"Word on the street is that there's a girl walking around Konoha buying ninja supplies and survival materials" He says as he intently began to stare into my soul, sending shivers down my spine. "What were you thinking?" He asks cocking his head to the side as he crossed his arms and continued to stare at me.

"I just wanted to get away for a while, ok?" I said, using the same sorry excuse I told Shikamaru as I crossed my arms much like his. He stared at me for a little while longer before letting out a sigh and began to walk deeper in the village. "We leave tomorrow" He says while walking away and i run to catch up with him.

"We?" I ask confused at what he meant. "I'm leaving for Suna tomorrow due to unforeseen issues there, my people need me and I'm bringing you with me" He calmly says and I let out a little squel of excitement. "What? did you think I'd actually let you out there one your own with no protection? especially since you're the daughter of a noble feudal lord which makes you a target for ransom?" He says as I began to feel stupid for trying to leave on my own.

We began to get closer to his place as we thought it'd be best if I spent the night and we all leave before anyone in the village woke up. Once we make it there, Gaara lets us both in and I walk into his room as if it were my own. I collapsed on his bed due to exhaustion and he walks I'm the room and throws one of his shirts at my to change into before walking out, leaving me alone.

I quickly got changed into his shirt and soon passed out on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

//

I was woken up the next day with Gaara shaking me lightly with a look that read that it was time to leave. I groggily crawled out of his bed and prepared myself for the long journey ahead of us since it was a three day journey to Suna.

I made my way to the living room once I was ready to see Gaara with a boy wearing all black, standing next to him. They both stop what they were doing once they felt my presence and turned to look at me. "Hi, I'm Kankuro" He happily chirps at me as I give him a smile and introduce myself as well.

The three of us grab all out belongings and walk out of the house to see a bunch of sand shinobis. "What's all of this?" I ask Gaara as I gesture to the group of shinobis making a ruckus in front of us. "They will escort us back to Suna" He casually says as one of the takes my bag from me so I wouldn't have to carry it myself.

We begin to walk out of the gates of Konoha and I sigh in relief that I'm actually getting to leave. I look around and take in my surroundings in excitement of what's next to come.

I just couldn't shake off the feeling that I was ready to take on just about anything.

//

(a/n) : This was my 2nd time writing this chapter because Quotev crashed and it didn't save :( hayzz. anyways I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far because the next few chapters will be kind of dramatic.

I also want to thank you guys for the love and support you guys have given me as it means a lot for me and it inspires me to keep on going.

btw, there might be no upload over the weekend as I have other duties to attend to but i'll try my best.

Until next time