In Sickness And Health ~Shikamaru~

Chapter 22

The voice was unfamilier to me, however after a second I could see the recognition in Reira's eyes. We both turned in the direction of the voice. Standing on the sidewalk not to far from us were two boys around our age. One was pale and stood tall with shaggy black hair that fell in his red colored eyes. Leaning on his shoulder with a foot in air was the other boy who looked like he could be his brother with brown hair and similar eyes.

They both looked down at Reira with wide unbelieving eyes and pale faces. What one had said still filled the air around me. 'You're alive'. What did that mean? "Hanzo... Atari..." Reira's voice was soft and choked. Looking over, I saw that her own eyes had grown wide and slightly misty. She stood slowly and moved closer to them. The expression on her face was something that I had never seen, and for some reason it left a strange feeling in my heart. Like I wanted to hold her and protect her from whatever was causing that wide saddened expression.

"No way..." The one with the hurt foot breathed. Both of them reached out a hand to her and Reira also put out a hand. When their fingertips touched the boys faces split into wide grins and they tackled Reira to the grass. "Reira!" Their voices of joy mixed with her laughter as they hugged in a large mass. But they had to stop quickly after when the smaller of the two boys began to complain about his foot.

I kneeled down next to Reira and helped her sit up. "Atari... what did you... do?" She asked, looking at the brown haired boys ankle, which at this close range I could now see was swollen and turning blue.

He jerked his thumb at the boy next to him. "Ask him."

"I said I was sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to make the swelling go down!"

"Well maybe it would make the swelling in your head go down if you accepted it for once!"

"You wanna go?!"

The black haired boy smirked and poked at Atari's ankle, causing him to jump and cry out in pain. "I think I win."

Reira let out a sigh and leaned into me. "I forgot how... irritating these two... can be." She mumbled so that only I would hear.

"And these two are?" I asked. Both boys stopped and looked at me, then at Reira who was still leaned up against me, then back at me.

Reira smiled up at me. "These..." She made a grand gesture with her hand. "Are my old... team mates, Hanzo... Kamimara and Atari Ashida."

"Hiii." Both said with joyous grins. I gave a simple 'hey' and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Guys... this is... Shikamaru Nara."

"What's with the pauses?" Atari asked.

She smiled and tapped her head. "I have... brain damage... from the fight."

Hanzo looked down and his face seemed to twist into one of pure rage. "I wanted to slaughter that man after what he did to you..."

"Hanzo..." Reira watched him through compassionate eyes and I took hold of her hand, giving a gentle squeeze. She let out a breath and squeezed back. Although, this gesture did not go unseen but Atari whose eyes narrowed dangerously at our joined hands.

"So... Shikamaru. You and Reira are?" He asked, a dare in his tone it seemed.

But that's when I realized... I didn't know how to answer. I had asked the question but these two showed up before Reira was able to give me an answer. But before I could say anything I felt her squeeze my hand and looked down to see that soft and shy smile, a pink blush decorating her cheeks. It made my heart begin to beat a bit faster. "I'm his... girlfriend."

Something in me wanted to jump and yell and hold her tightly and never let go. She accepted. She wants to be my girlfriend. But instead of doing all that, mainly because if I did they would throw me in the mental wing, I opted for putting my arm around her waist and drawing her closer to me, giving a small grin of my own.

Both of them looked at us with wide eyes. "Whoa..." They said in unison.

Reira looked over at them from the corner of her eye in a shy manner. "I can't believe you just admitted that so smoothly..." Hanzo mused.

"What happened to 'screw love, ima go punch something'?" Atari asked, seeming more freaked out than dazed.

"That died... with most of... my brain function." She looked down at her hands knotted together in her lap. "I changed a lot... after the... accident... There were things... I felt that... I could no... longer believe in. My adventures... as a ninja... were over. I couldn't choose... a life of training... and fighting... anymore. Instead... I had to do... what I could... with my condition." Reira looked up to me and I could see happiness and content in those empty blue eyes. "And I'm happy... with how my life... has turned out."

Both of the boys turned to each other, exchanging a look, before looking over to her again. "You look happy here, Rei." Atari said, looking dejected and resigned.

"As long as you're happy, we're happy." Hanzo continued.

"To be honest, we're just happy to see you alive!" Atari gushed.

That's when I was reminded of what they had said when they first showed up. Reira seemed to share my revelation. "What did... you guys mean... by 'you're alive'?" She asked.

Once again, they shared a look and looked back down at her. "Reira... we were told you were dead." Hanzo said.

Her eyes grew wide at this statement. "Who told you... I was... dead?" She demanded.

Neither seemed to want to answer her and looked away, trainging their eyes on anything except for her. But after a short bit of persistance, Atari finally let out a sigh and looked her in the eyes. "Your Dad did."