The Wounded Deer

Chapter Twenty One

Author Note: Okay, so I've only got one more chapter to upload here and then I'll have to continue writing them up. So yeah, enjoy.

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"Hey Ino, do you know where my scrapbook is? I know I always kept it underneath my bed for safe keeping, but I can't seem to find it."

Ino poked her head inside Kaede's room, watching her outstretch a hand underneath her bed and pull out some boxes.

"Oh, that old scrapbook you used to put all your pictures in?" Ino tapped her chin. "How come you're looking for it?"

"I wanted to scrapbook the photos from my birthday party. Did you take it or something? I know you have a habit of borrowing or taking things without asking." Kaede deadpans.

"O-Oh yeah, now I remember. " Ino laughed a bit. "I was looking at it the other day and put it back on the shelf in your closet."

Kaede pushed herself up off the floor and dusts herself off. "You know, if you're gonna take things couldn't you at least put them back where they belong?"

"Okay, okay," Ino sighed, leaning against the door frame.

Kaede walked into her closet and reached up before grabbing a large black scrapbook with white embroidery around a picture of a younger Kaede. She walked out of her room and went downstairs to the dining room to put it on the table. After blowing off a bit of dust, she carefully opened it up and flipped through several pages. She suddenly stopped at one page in particular.

"Huh, why did you stop?" Ino walked over to Kaede to take a closer look at the page. "Oh I remember these pictures! These were taken during the Chūnin Exams!"

"Yeah," Kaede couldn't help but smile at the memory.

There were three pictures of Choji, Ino, Sakura and Kaede sitting together with hundreds of other people that had come to watch the final rounds of the Chūnin Exams in the Leaf Village. Choji was mostly eating his chips when the pictures were taken. Ino and Sakura were smiling and Kaede was making a silly face while holding a boxed lunch wrapped in a blue cloth.

"Even though Shikamaru forfeited the match in the end, he still ended up becoming a Chunin." Ino nodded thoughtfully before she nudged Kaede. "And you even went out of your way to make him a boxed lunch."

Kaede blushed and looked away embarrassed. "Do you really have to go and bring that up?"

"C'mon Kaede, there's nothing wrong with that." Ino laughed. "I wish I had thought of doing that for Sasuke. I thought it was a really cute gesture… even though you insisted and told Shikamaru that his Mom made it for him."

"But he probably would've been freaked out if I told him I made it," Kaede retorted with a soft sigh.

"I dunno about that. Still… I would've liked to see his reaction if you told him who really made it." Ino thought back to the day of Shikamaru's final match in the Chūnin Exams.

"C'mon Shikamaru, take that bitch down!"

"You're certainly fired up today Ino, aren't you?" Sakura giggled.

"Hey, got anymore room over there?" A male voice asked.

"Huh, Choji," Ino blinked in surprise at her teammate. "I thought you were at the hospital because of your stomachache. Are you feeling any better?"

"Yup," Choji opened up a bag of chips and shoved a few in his mouth. "And I even brought someone to tag along with me."

Kaede smiled, popping out from behind Choji. "Hey you guys,"