Shikamaru’s heart pounded as he watched Akane start to fall. He rushed to her side and caught her before she hit the floor. He lifted her and held her against his side as he commanded the rest of the group.
“Choji, run ahead to the hospital and tell Sakura what happened,” he barked. Shikamaru prayed Sakura was there. If not, he didn’t like the odds Akane had. Choji left immediately. “Kiba and Konohamaru, can you two finish up here?” They nodded. “Good. The last thing she’ll need when she wakes up is to be worried about this while she’s trying to heal.”
If she wakes up, Shikamaru thought before he could stop himself. He’d just gotten her back; he couldn’t lose her again. Not like this. Not permanently.
Shikamaru scooped Akane up into his arms and sprinted towards the hospital. Hidden Leaf villagers jumped out of his way as he ran. A few tried to talk to him or offered to help, but Shikamaru never paused. He ran as fast as he could without bouncing Akane around too much. He tried not to focus on how her breathing was slowing, but he pushed his legs to run faster as it did. He pulled her into his body more tightly and ran as fast as his legs would go.
He finally reached the doors of the hospital, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Choji and Sakura standing outside. Sakura led him up the stairs and into a room, and a nurse was hot on Shikamaru’s heels. Shikamaru placed Akane on the bed, and Sakura urged him out the door.
“She’s going to be okay, right?” Shikamaru asked.
“I’m going to do everything I can.” Sakura shook her head. “I saw this coming, but I didn’t think it would get this bad…”
Anger boiled inside Shikamaru. “What do you mean you saw it coming?”
“I’ll explain later. Now, go! I need to get started. This is going to take at least an hour, so don’t drive yourself crazy in the hall.”
Sakura slammed the door shut. Shikamaru stood and stared at the door for a few moments before he sat down beside it. How bad off had Akane been? It must have been worse than he’d known if other people were seeing it too. He itched for a cigarette, but he wanted to be there when Sakura finished. On the other hand, she’d said it would take at least an hour…
Choji walked up then, and he sat in the floor next to Shikamaru. Neither of the men said a word. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Choji suggested they go outside. Choji could feel how badly Shikamaru wanted to break the door down, and he didn’t want Sakura killing him.
Shikamaru weighed his options but ultimately decided to go with Choji. They stayed outside until Shikamaru finished his pack of cigarettes. By then, it had been almost an hour, and they made their way back to Akane’s room. The door was still closed, and he could hear Sakura working inside. Shikamaru and Choji sat on either side of the door and waited.
#
Almost another full hour later, Sakura emerged from Akane’s room. She was sweating and looked almost as exhausted as Akane had. Her face was pinched and tinged green; her shoulders slumped.
“I did everything I could…” Sakura said.
Shikamaru’s heart stopped. The hallway spun as his brain started to melt. His legs grew weak, and he’d all but fallen to his knees when Sakura spoke again. No, no, no, not like this…
“…but she needs rest. I can only heal so much with chakra. Shikamaru? Are you alright?”
Shikamaru was supported only by Choji. With Sakura’s sentence finished, he started to catch his breath. A tingle in his feet told him he was regaining control of his limbs. He pushed himself off of Choji and stood on his own again.
“You could have led with something different, you know.”
“Sorry,” Sakura said with a soft smile. “She’s going to be fine. She’s asleep right now. But seriously, Shikamaru, she needs rest. It’s long overdue. Why didn’t you bring her to me sooner?”
“We just reconnected yesterday,” Shikamaru admitted with a grimace.
“Oh…” Sakura’s face contorted with the deep thoughts she struggled with.
“Whatever it is, Sakura, lay it on me. I’m not leaving her side, and I need to know everything if I’m going to take care of her.”
Sakura’s face smoothed the tiniest bit at his words, and she nodded. “Akane pushed herself too hard during the war. We all did. But when the rest of us were recuperating, she refused. She left the hospital well before anyone told her she could. With her parents dead, her uncle took ownership of her house. He kicked her out of her childhood home. On top of the grief she was feeling, she lost her home, and she threw herself into working to keep the grief from consuming her. Kakashi Sensei didn’t want to give her an assignment, but…” Sakura shrugged. “We needed the manpower, and he knew she wasn’t going to rest either way.”
Shikamaru nodded as he absorbed her words. “Thank you, Sakura. For everything.” As Sakura turned to leave, Shikamaru called after her, “Hey, how is Sasuke doing?”
Sakura froze in place for a few seconds before planting her feet. She was still facing away from him, but Shikamaru heard her clearly.
“Akane should be completely healed in a week or so. I’ll check in often to make sure she’s getting better. And Shikamaru?”
“Yeah?”
Sakura turned her head to look him in the eye. “She thought she’d lost you, too. Remember that. You can go in whenever you’re ready.” Sakura thought for another moment before she continued: “You know, it’s nice to see you care this much about someone.” Sakura turned and started walking. As she left, Shikamaru hear her mutter, “Naruto better pay up.”
Shikamaru smiled to himself before opening the door.
#
Choji followed Shikamaru into Akane’s room and closed the door behind him.
She looks so small, Shikamaru thought. And frail. How did I never notice before how fragile she was? She’s strong, but she’s too precious to be pushed until she looks like this.
Akane was fast asleep, and her mouth hung open slightly. Her skin was paler than it had ever been; even her cheeks were devoid of color. The only color on her face was the dark purple smudges under her eyes, and Shikamaru winced when his gaze flicked over them.
Choji and Shikamaru pulled the two chairs under the window closer to Akane’s bed and sat down. Sakura hadn’t said when she would wake up, but maybe that was a good thing. Shikamaru desperately wanted her eyes to open; he needed to see the life in her eyes. But he knew that she needed rest more than he needed reassurance.
The guys sat in silence for just over two hours before Choji said he had to go. He had errands to run for Kakashi, and Shikamaru knew he’d put them off as long as he could. He thanked Choji for his help and for staying as long as he had. Choji said he’d check back the next morning, and he left. When the door closed behind him, Shikamaru resumed his silent watch over Akane’s sleeping body. He sat in silence as he heard the hospital quiet and the sun began to set.
Shikamaru hadn’t bothered with the lights. He hadn’t wanted to risk waking Akane before her body was ready. The sun had long since set, and it was pitch black in the room when Akane stirred. The moonlight streaming through the window illuminated her just enough that Shikamaru could see her eyelids flutter as she rolled towards him.
“Hello?” she called.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Shikamaru said. He filled his voice with calm and warmth. “Do you want me to turn the lights on?”
“Yes, please…” Akane groaned.
“Close your eyes,” Shikamaru said. Akane grunted her affirmation, and Shikamaru flipped the light switch.
Despite her eyes being closed, Akane still winced at the sudden assault on her eyes. Once they adjusted, Akane opened her eyes. She watched Shikamaru as he took his seat at her side. She glanced at the second, empty chair before turning her attention back to him.
“What happened?” she finally asked.
Shikamaru ran through the day’s events, and Akane’s face grew more and more grim as he spoke. He finished by telling her everything Sakura had relayed to him. The tiniest tinge of pink flushed her cheeks as he spoke.
“Why didn’t you give your body time to heal? You, Sakura, and the other iryo-nin were pushed harder than almost anyone else. Why didn’t you rest?”
Akane scoffed. “Of course the laziest person in the village thinks I should have taken it easy when we needed to rebuild.”
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at her. “At least I know the difference between being lazy and taking a necessary break. Killing yourself by overworking your body doesn’t mean you’re not lazy. It means you don’t value your own life like you should.”
Shikamaru leaned back in the chair and propped his feet up on her bed. Akane fumed as Shikamaru folded his hands behind his head.
“Why aren’t you leaving?!” she finally snapped.
“I’m right where I want to be.”