The Wounded Deer

The Wounded Deer - Chapter One

Kaede stared down at the pink envelope in her hands as she leaned against the counter of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. There were several thoughts were running through her mind all at once. She wondered how she would approach him, how would he react to her feelings, and would it even work out. Her stomach was in a blender, and she was starting to feel a bit queasy.

'No! I've come too far now to be nervous! All I have to do is tell him how I feel. But...if he doesn't return my feelings, erm...I'd rather not think about that possibility right now.' Kaede shook her head to push the thought to the back of her mind.

"I didn't think I'd find you working here on your day off from the hospital." a lazy voice spoke behind said silver haired girl, catching her off guard.

"S-Shika-kun?! You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

Shikamaru simply furrowed his brows together before giving her a lazy smirk. "You shouldn't be spacing out so much while you're working, you could get fired."

Kaede folded her arms over her chest, puffing her cheeks out. "So did you just come here to scold me on the job? Believe me; I get enough of that from Ino when I make a mistake with the flower arranging. It's harder than it looks."

Shikamaru's smirk faded before he slowly made his way over to the counter. "No, I came here because I wanted to talk to you about something." The way Shikamaru leaned over the counter, Kaede felt the sudden urge to tackle him and declare her feelings she's kept locked up all this time. She quickly chastised herself to wait and keep from doing anything rash.

"So, what is it?" Kaede inquired, trying to keep a nonchalant attitude.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his awkwardly, his eyes averting hers for a moment before he sighed in exasperation. It took nearly all of her Kaede's power to keep from squealing out about how cute he looked when he was nervous.

'God, why does he have to be so cute?!' she mentally sighed.

"I'll tell you. Just promise you won't say a word to anyone about this." Shikamaru frowned.

"Sure, I promise."

"You swear you won't?"

"My lips are sealed."

"Don't say-"

"Okay, just tell me already dammit!" Kaede shouted with indignation. Shikamaru visibly flinched at her voice, sticking a pinky in his ear to keep his eardrums from shattering at her scream.

"Alright, alright, just quit yelling." Shikamaru sighed in defeat. "I need some advice for...picking out a gift."

"Picking out a gift? A gift for whom exactly?" Kaede raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Look, I'm not gonna say who, I just need some advice on what to give to her since her birthday is coming up. And I'm not so good at picking out gifts, especially ones for girls. I knew if I asked Ino or Choji about it, they'd never let me live it down. And don't even get me started on my Mom. It'd be too troublesome to deal with. So I figured, why not ask you?"

'Well, my birthday is coming up soon. Maybe this is his way of trying to get me the perfect gift.' Kaede felt herself grow giddy at the thought.

Slowly, her lips curved into a mischievous smile. "So, who's the gift for? Is it for a special someone, or just a friend?" she teased while nudging him playfully in the arm.

He scowled, a faint red blush dusting his cheeks. "Like I said, I'm not gonna say any names. Just because I asked you for help, doesn't mean I'm gonna give you any hints on who it is."

"Aw, come on Maru-Maru-chan, it's only fair if I'm ever gonna help you pick out a gift." she whined.

"Kaede, I told you not to call me that! And whining like that isn't gonna work on me."

"Come on, please? I'll be your best friend if you tell me?"

His right eye twitched in irritation. "You are my best friend, and how you became my best friend at this point is really beyond me."

"Yeah, but I'll be your best friend forever!" she pouted her lower lip, giving him the signature puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, it's for a girl I've had a thing for a while now alright? Now are you gonna help me or not?"

'Jackpot, it's gotta be me for sure!' Kaede could hardly keep the grin off her face.

"Sure, what are friends for?"

"Thanks, so...what's that letter for?" Shikamaru pointed at the pink envelope that Kaede still holding onto. She looked down, quickly shoving it into the pocket of her work apron with a nervous laugh.

"O-Oh, nothing, just a letter I had to send to my...my Aunt! I-I figured I'd send her a letter and hear back from her about how she's doing back at my home town." Kaede looked off to the side.

Shikamaru stared at her with a skeptical look. He could tell she was lying, but he knew trying to get an answer out of her would be troublesome, so he shrugged the matter off.

"Okay, so here's my advice..." she started off.

"I'll see you tomorrow Shizune-sensei!"

"Alright, same time tomorrow!" Shizune waved. Kaede quickly changed out of her medical-nin uniform and back into her normal attire before leaving Konoha Hospital. All day long, Kaede had been anxious and nervous to finally telling Shikamaru how she felt after hiding her true feelings for him for almost three years.

She constantly feared if she told Shikamaru and he rejected her, things would never be the same between them again. She didn't want to screw up their friendship just because of a little crush. But with time, her 'little crush' developed into something much more than she had expected. Now at the age of fifteen, she felt as if she would burst if she tried to contain her growing feelings for him. So after some mental deliberation, Kaede finally decided she would take a chance and finally tell him how she feels. 'Who knows, maybe we'll get to spend my birthday together. Just the two of us...'

'Okay, if I were Shikamaru, where would I go?' Kaede looked around. She quickly decided to head over to his favorite cloud watching spot which was on the roof of the Ninja Academy. As she walked up the stairs to roof, she paused when she heard Shikamaru's voice. She smiled before she stopped halfway up the stairs, quickly pulling out the love letter from her pocket.

'This is it...' Kaede could feel her heart beating in her ears.

After taking a few deep breaths, Kaede sighed before she reached the final step. What she saw on the roof made her blood run cold. Shikamaru stood on the rooftop, handing a gift-wrapped box to a young woman with blonde hair in pigtails with a fan strapped to her back. Kaede's eyes doubled in size as she watched the woman take the gift and pull Shikamaru into a soft, yet sweet kiss. Kaede could feel her heart breaking in two as she watched the one she loved lip-locked with another woman.

'So I wasn't the girl he was talking about after all. I suppose it was rather stupid of me to think something like that...' Kaede turned around before she could be seen, her warm tears flying behind her as they streamed down her face.