Looks like I'm not lazy beyond belief, and I'm still alive and healthy. x3 Here's part two of what was originally chapter forty-four! ^^

That night, when everyone else had gone to bed, Shikami stayed in the living room with his mom, at her request, wondering what it was she wanted. They sat down on the couch and Shikami waited for her to say something.

When she didn't, he began, "Will you go back to Konoha?"

"No." She hadn't even hesitated, which surprised him.

"Why not?" he asked.

She fiddled with her headband for a moment, then let her hands drop and she fiddled with her ring. What was she nervous about?

"I'm considering... other options."

Shikami raised an eyebrow, and his mom answered his unasked question.

"I could always return home with you. Konoha was my home once, Shikami, but it's not anymore. Now that you know the truth about it all, we will probably have many visitors - Kyra, my parents, possibly your father's parents, et cetera. You and Ethan will have to keep quiet as much as possible about where they're from and all that - but you know, that, right?"

Shikami nodded. Just because he now knew that ninja existed didn't mean the entire town he grew up in could know about it.

"So, like I said, some friends will probably visit, and I'll likely visit them, but I'm not going to live in Konoha anymore."

"Because you don't want to leave me alone?" Shikami asked, feeling guilt creeping up.

"Yes."

"Mom—"

She put a finger to his lips. "Put yourself in my shoes, Shikami. What would you do for your only child?"

Shikami hated to admit it, but, "I'd stay with my kid if he was banished and his other parent was dead."

"Exactly."

"You said you were considering other options, plural. What else were you thinking about?"

His mom studied him for a moment, then said, seeming to ignore his question, "If you were given the choice, and you had nothing dramatic happening like me going missing or a council deciding your fate for you, what life would you choose to live?"

Shikami thought about that for a while, even though he already had a general idea. Finally he answered, "I'd like to be a ninja, go on missions and help and protect people and everything, but I'd miss home, too. I guess I'd like to be a ninja with vacation time."

His mom laughed.

"I'm serious," Shikami insisted, though he grinned as well in spite of himself.

"I know you are," she said, grinning. "It's just that that's the first time I've ever heard of a view like that."

"So, my question?" Shikami pressed.

His mom's amused grin faded to a softer smile, sad yet bright at the same time somehow. "Gaara made me an offer today. If I say yes, you'll be able to get your wish."

Shikami blinked. "How? I'm banished."

"From Konoha," she specified. "Shikami Nara, genin of Konohagakure, is no longer allowed to set foot in the Hidden Leaf Village. But if you were to join another village, you would be able to continue being a ninja. And it's just possible that Shikami Nara of Sunagakure would be permitted back in Konoha for the Chunin Exams."

Shikami stared at her. "Really? Gaara would let me be a ninja of the Sand Village? Would Ethan be allowed to do so, too?"

"Not so fast," his mom cautioned. "You can't just switch villages so easily, not without permission from more than just the Kazekage. And it would be extremely difficult to get that permission because of your banishment. Something has to take place to prove loyalty, to form a nearly unbreakable tie with that village."

"Like what?"

"Sometimes, when one tries to join a rival village rather than an ally, ninja steal powerful weapons from their village to offer as gifts to the next."

"As if Ethan and I would do that anyways," Shikami told her needlessly. "Besides, Suna and Konoha are allies."

Shikami remembered a couple stories, one in particular, where a ninja had defected from his village to join a rival village as well, but he had had nothing to offer but himself. That seemed to be all that village's leader had wanted, though - the power, or potential, that the young ninja had possessed. But again, Suna and Konoha were allies.

She nodded and continued with the other option. "And sometimes..." She hesitated. "Sometimes, a marriage takes place, and family and friends as close as family can move to live in the same village as the shinobi who married and moved villages."

Shikami froze. She couldn't mean...

"Honey, Gaara has asked me to marry him."

*drops bomb in chur lap* xP

Well, here's hoping I won't have a huuuge delay before my next update, but I can't make any promises this time. x/ There's other stuff I need to update, and other stuff I need to write, not to mention that the teachers usually use "Students start acting up and slacking off this time of the year" as an excuse to give out more homework. *headdesk* But I lovez you all, my wonderful readers and reviewers! ^^

Speaking of which... *pokes below review button* x3