The Wounded Deer

Chapter Fourteen

Evafan24: Thanks everyone for being so patient with me. I'm sorry I've neglected in updating my Shikamaru story on my wattpad account. I've been so busy with school and my computer has been acting up a lot recently. Fortunately, it seems to be working okay for the most part so hopefully I should be able to add the rest of the chapters soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shikamaru or any of Masashi Kishimoto's characters. I do however own the OC characters in this story such as Kaede Himawari and this story.

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'No, no no! This can't be happening, it just can't be!'

Kaede searched frantically through her now messy room, hoping to find the missing piece of jewelry she had carelessly misplaced. The books she received from Tsunade earlier today were carelessly lying out all over the floor, notebooks and papers filled with important notes were either taking up space on her bed or on her wooden desk, and scrolls were thrown to the side as she continued her search.

"How could I lose the bracelet, I just had it with me a second ago! If Shikamaru finds out—"

Kaede clenched her clammy hands into a fist, frowning deeply at the thought of Shikamaru's reaction if he were to find out she had already lost his gift.

"Man, I don't even wanna think about how he'll react if he finds out!" she thought with a furious shake of her head.

"I'll treasure it…always."

The familiar words she spoke to Shikamaru began to echo through her mind. Slowly falling backwards, her body collides onto her bed, crushing any notebooks or papers that were lying on it. A melancholy sigh escaped her parted lips as she slowly closed eyes, burying her face in her hands.

'It's like I'm going back on my own words. How could have I let this happen…how?'

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"Thank you for shopping at PhotoStop, have a good day Ma'am."

"Thanks, you too!"

'Ugh, do I look like a Ma'am to you? Ugh the nerve of that clerk…' Ino thought, inwardly huffing under her breath.

Ino walked out the photo processing store, carrying a plastic bag with the newly developed pictures that were taken at Kaede's birthday party. Kaede had originally planned on going to get the pictures developed herself, but since she had been so occupied with her work, Ino kindly offered to do it for her during her break.

'It's a good thing I offered to get these photos for her; she probably would've been too embarrassed to make extra copies of some pictures.'Ino thought while grinning to herself.

"Hey, Ino!"

Ino turns her head towards the voice calling her name. She smiled at the familiar pink haired girl and waves in her direction.

"Hey Sakura, what's up?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders a bit. "I just finished up some training, how about you?"

Ino gestured behind her with a thumb towards the photo store. "Kaede wanted me to pick up the pictures from her birthday party since she was too busy to do it today."

"Really, can I have a look at them?" Sakura asked.

'Well…I was planning on showing these to Kaede first, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to show Sakura.' Ino thought.