In Sickness And Health ~Shikamaru~

Chapter 29

The sun was bright and filtered through the branches of the tree I sat under. My back leaned against the rough bark, but yet it felt pretty good there. But that was probebly because of the warmth seeping into me from my beautiful girlfriend who sat between my legs with her back to my chest. I held her close around her mid-section and looked up through the tree top at the bright sun shine.

Yesterday was strange. I'm still not entirely sure what happened between Alsono and Choji and Ikuto, but when I went by there this morning everything seemed to have been fixed between them. Whatever Reira said to Al, it hit home and gave her courage. Alsono has agreed to start a trial and error to help her fear, but Choji asked that he help her exclusivly. So now, Reira and I get to spend more time alone together. And I have not called troublesome woman once.

She rolled her head to the side and I could feel the cool skin of her nose brush against my neck. I moved my arms up to her shoulders and held her tighter, rolling my own head to the side to place a kiss on top of her hair. We had been like this for almost an hour now. And it has been peaceful all day. No one has bothered us, no one has even walked by here. It's like we're in our own little world of nothing.

But by thinking that, I went and jinxed us. Ten minutes had passed and Hanzo and Atari came running over. "Hey!"

I quickly shushed Atari. He stoped immeadiatly and looked over the precious sleeping girl in my arm. Reira had a soft smile on her lips as she napped away, my shoulder her pillow and my arm her blanket. They both carefully sat around us. "How long has see been out?" Hanzo asked.

"Five minutes." Atari was glaring at me as I smoothed down Reira's hair and gently moved her into a more comfortable position. Everytime he visits her, he spends a decent amount of his time glaring at me. And it tends to not matter how hard he tries to look like he is at least tolerating me, I can tell by the way he sucks in his breath everytime I touch Reira's hand that he doesn't want me anywhere near her.

His instant dislike for me is something I really don't care about. If he doesn't like me then that's his problem. However I do wish he make a greater effort in front of Reira. That innocent little smile wavers everytime she notices the looks he gives me. And I'll do anything to keep her smiling.

Reira groaned in my arms and her eyes slowly opened. Both of the boys smiled at her and began to talk, but there was something wrong. She felt unnaturally warm and she began to shiver dispite the coat I had insisted she wear with the cooling fall temperature. Looking down at her face, her eyes were half lidded and fluttering, her face was red and she looked like she was in pain.

Hanzo notice before Atari did. "Reira, are you alright?"

Her head fell against my shoulder and I nearly let go from hot her skin was. I gathered her in my arms and quickly stood, running to the hospital as fast as possible. Hanzo and Atari followed. The moment I stepped foot in the hospital I called out for Sakura. "What's the shouting- Reira!" One look at her and it was obvious how much pain she was in.

They took her from my arms but Reira had a tight hold on my vest. Her half lidded eyes looked at me vacantly, but yet there was an underlying fear in them, something I was not used to seeing from her. "Don't leave me!" She screamed. "Stay! Please! I'm scared." Lines of tears ran down her face. I had never seen this fear in her before. Something was definitely wrong with her if she was begging me to stay by her side, even more disturbing though is that she admitted she was scared.

I got the idea that this fear had been building in her, she had been keeping quiet about something and that something is what is doing this to her now. I put my hand over hers. "I promise, I'll be rght beside you the entire time. But you need to let them take you now."

"Don't let go." The fear in her began to hurt my heart. She is someone I care very deeply about, the only person I feel I could ever love. My head was still on hers and I gripped it tightly. "I'll hold your hand the entire time."

She gave a pained smile, but that smile quickly changed as she let out a loud moan, her eyes rolling back in her head. The last thing I saw before the doctors took her from me was the blood streaming from her nose.