We made it to the final chapter. Congratulations to all of you! It took a while, but we made it. I want to let all the readers know that this story is what it is because of you. I had the main storyline down, but the tweaks were from what I heard from reviewers to make it better. A huge thank-you to all my reviewers, you inspired me to keep at this until the very end. I do have ideas for other stories, but I'll probably go back and try to salvage my already-posted stories before posting a new one. My resolve is not solid, so maybe I'll post a new story beforehand, but that's the plan for now, especially since I don't have another story ready to go yet. Anyway, enjoy the last chapter of To Be Strong!

Chapter 20

If Ino's voice was still working, she would've screamed herself hoarse. Because she could not, she channeled all her energy into trying to stand so she could kill the man who just cut down both her teammates. There would be time to mourn and fall apart later; right now, she had to focus on bringing down the enemy. Tinges of red appeared around the periphery of her vision, but she kept her gaze trained on the doctor who now knelt beside her gasping boyfriend.

A blast of energy in the shape of a blue dragon shot towards the doctor, but Dr. Kyle was able to jump away before he was injured. The dragon narrowly missed hitting Shikamaru, causing Ino to hiss and turn her head just enough to see who was so careless. When she saw Kurogane and Fye approach with Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona in tow, the tiny, rational part of her brain told her that if it had been anyone else, the dragon would've hit Shikamaru, and it was only thanks to Kurogane's expertise that it did not.

Dr. Kyle narrowed his eyes at the newcomers and scowled. His gaze darted between Kurogane's group and the downed Shikamaru, judging if he could get to the missed feather before they could reach him. Ino was dismissed completely. She should've been offended, but she was shaking so badly just from rising to a crouch that she was in no position to be threatening anyone. Fye, Syaoran, and Kurogane stepped between her and Dr. Kyle, clearly defensive positions, while Sakura and Mokona hovered over Ino. The girl's emerald eyes looked over Ino in a worried fashion, but Ino kept her gaze on Shikamaru and Dr. Kyle. The man's mood appeared to be getting blacker by the second, and even though she had no way of getting between him and Shikamaru if he chose to lash out at the man just at his feet, she would make the attempt anyway.

In an attempt to regain his former composure, the doctor took a deep breath and tried to smile at the newcomers. The action looked like it pained him. "Once again, you arrive just in time to prevent me from getting what I need."

Ino couldn't see their faces, but she could feel the animosity directed at Dr. Kyle from the men in front of her. "You won't get away with this one," rumbled Kurogane as he adjusted his grip on his sword. "There's not enough time if you grab the feather."

Dr. Kyle's expression hardened again. With hazy vision, Ino saw him prepare himself to dart forward and snatch the feather from Shikamaru's grasp, but Kurogane and Syaoran were already in motion. The two of them reached the doctor before he had time to lunge forward. Kurogane's sword descended towards his head while Syaoran's angled upward from his legs, forcing Dr. Kyle to change his position so he could defend himself with two surgical knives. The man was able to stop the two blades, but he couldn't block Syaoran's follow up roundhouse and stumbled away from the blow.

Ino's vision faded in and out, and the battle between the three became snapshots instead of a continuous flow. Somewhere near her head, she heard Mokona's worried whimpers, and she felt someone kneel beside her. Her vision had gone black, so she couldn't tell who it was. "You don't look well, Hikari," Fye's voice floated through the darkness. He sounded as concerned as Mokona. "What did he do to you?"

"The feather," panted Ino as she fought to regain her eyesight. "That…was inside my body. He threw…a metal spiral at me, and a feather…came out of me." Now she could see Fye's serious visage in front of her. "Please…Shikamaru…Chouji…save them." She could hardly hear her own voice over the noise of battle all around.

The fight between Kurogane, Syaoran, and Dr. Kyle reached a standstill with the defenders between Dr. Kyle and Shikamaru. Both sides had seen better days, but Dr. Kyle had seen more combat that day and appeared to be more worn down than the other two. His breathing, so easy when he ran circles around Shikamaru and Chouji, sounded labored and wheezy. The clothes he wore were ragged, and long strips of white showed through his coat. Some of the white was stained red where one of the other combatants drew blood. While he appeared to be worse for wear, the other two showed no sign of the struggle they'd engaged in aside from increased breathing and sweat marks and dirt stains on their clothes. Syaoran had a long score down his non dominant arm where the doctor had gotten in a lucky strike. Kurogane looked like he'd just come from a training session with Ino. "Are you still willing to try to beat us?" asked Ino's temporary instructor as he brought his sword into a ready stance. The younger boy at his side did the same, a determined look on his face.

The dark-haired doctor looked from the two of them down to Shikamaru behind them and back. Ino thought he'd keep trying since he'd put in so much effort already, but instead he backed away from them. "It appears you win this round," he snarled and glared at them. "Next time, you won't be so lucky."

"Luck had nothing to do with this," Fye responded from Ino's side, his usual smile still in place, though his eyes were cold. "Let your master know that we will come for him soon."

Dr. Kyle gave them one last, angry look before darting away from them and out of Ino's line of sight. Of course, she was less interested in the route he took and more interested in the failing condition of Shikamaru. As fast as Sakura could take her, the two of them approached the fallen man while the others approached the still forms of Chouji and Naruto. Ino worried about the other men, too, but Shikamaru was fading before her eyes; Chouji hadn't moved since the doctor ran him through, and neither had Naruto. "Shikamaru," she whispered, trying to call up any sort of medical jutsu, but her chakra coils refused to cooperate.

He opened his closed eyes at the sound of his name with a grimace. "Hey," he tried to greet her, but too much fluid in his lungs choked the words.

Despair filled the kunoichi. Already the death rattle sounded from his chest, and his eyes were losing focus. "Don't you dare die on me, Shikamaru," she growled at him, falling to the ground by his side as Sakura let her go. "I'll drag your soul back kicking and screaming if you try." I need another medic. My chakra won't form…I'm going to lose him at this rate… It took all she had not to show her thoughts.

Shikamaru's lips lifted in a half-smile. "Troublesome woman," he tried to say, but the mumbled words were lost in the rasp that escaped instead.

A heavy thump caused Ino to glance up, and she saw Misao removing her gloves and putting her hands over Shikamaru's temples. Her hands were covered with a medic's green aura, and Ino's heart jumped in her chest. She can save him! But her jubilation was short-lived as Misao's frown remained on her face and Shikamaru's breathing continued to get worse. "Why isn't he getting better?" Ino demanded. "He should show some signs of improvement by now!" It wasn't right to yell at Misao when she was doing the best she could, but Ino's nerves were shot to pieces, as were her manners.

The green aura around Misao's hands winked out, and she fell backwards onto her heels. Instead of answering Ino, she looked at the white Mokona behind Ino and said, "I can't keep him alive with just my field training. He'll be too far gone for our medic-nin to save him by the time they get here." Before Ino could deny it, the older kunoichi caught her gaze. "We're sending you back to the Dimension Witch, and you are going to beg for their lives. You're their only hope of pulling through this. Mokona, send her."

Mokona bounced up and opened its mouth wide…wider…wider still. The same markings that took Ino to the Dimension Witch the first time lit up around her feet, and she felt air pulling her toward Mokona, whose mouth was now wide enough to fit her body when before its own body was only the size of her lower leg. The markings made of light folded around her and forced her toward Mokona's open maw. Somewhere behind her, she recognized a few screams and, from the corner of her eye, saw Lochia-dono and Mika looking towards her with horror and open mouths. That brief glimpse was all she had time for before Mokona closed its mouth around her and swallowed her whole.

When the light faded, she found herself in the yard of that strange, little house surrounded by towering skyscrapers. Her chakra backlash still wracked her body with pain, but she crawled on her hands and knees to the front door. The boy with dual eye colors didn't open the door for her, but she was able to push herself up far enough that she could twist the doorknob and fall into the foyer. She counted herself lucky that the front door wasn't locked. "Yuuko-san?" called Ino as she dragged herself down the short hallway and into the open room to the left. Her voice was high-pitched and tight, but she was on a time schedule. Every second wasted was a second taken away from her comrades' lives.

Sitting on a cushion by a low table, Yuuko-san watched with impassive eyes as Ino crawled across the floor toward her. Pale hands set a porcelain teacup down on the table when Ino was within arms' reach. The kunoichi on the floor grabbed the hem of Yuuko-san's dress and tugged to get her attention, though the woman wasn't looking anywhere else but at her. "Please, help them," panted Ino. Her strength was leaving her faster than she was able to afford, but she wasn't going to expire without getting her message across. "My village…we were attacked. My teammates, my friends, they are dying..." Her lungs couldn't get enough air, and she had to stop just to breathe.

Instead of answering, the black-haired woman reached down and pulled Ino up so she rested on a cushion by the table. For such a weak-looking person, Yuuko-san had some upper-body strength to haul Ino up without help and make it look easy. Pushing a second porcelain cup with a phoenix design towards Ino's shaking hands, Yuuko-san waited for her to pick it up and leaned back. "Misao told me about what happened in Konoha," she told Ino as she maneuvered the cup to her lips. "Apparently they were after the feather inside you, but Syaoran and his team were able to fend them off."

If the situation wasn't as dire, Ino would've asked more about the feather and why anyone was after it, but her friends were dying as she sat there drinking tea! "A lot of my friends and villagers were hurt during the attack. Please help them. I will pay the price, no matter what it is."

Yuuko-san's next words stopped her cold. "This is what you wished for." Before Ino could retort that no, this was not what her wish was, Yuuko-san continued. "When you came to me earlier, you wished to be the strongest shinobi in your world so you could protect your village. Tell me, what makes a village? How many people must survive in order for Konohagakure to still be considered a village?"

Theoretically, as long as one person survives, then the village wouldn't die, but as to an exact number to keep the village going in the eyes of the rest of the world, Ino didn't know. However, Yuuko-san saw her answer and spoke again. "The other part of your wish was to be the strongest shinobi. Due to the training you received, your body reached its maximum potential. It is possible for you to learn new tricks, but in terms of strength, you have already reached your upper limit. I'm sure you noticed that you can now do things that you could not previously do because you lacked the strength then. Most of that is your strength, but part of that was also due to using soldier pills without dying. When shinobi use the soldier pills, they can't use too many because the pills have toxic metabolites. The feather that came from your body acted as a toxin filter, which was why you didn't die after ingesting so many soldier pills. In theory, this allows you to have limitless energy, so given enough time, you could defeat any enemy."

This was also true. Before, there was no way she could have taken Sakura on one-on-one in a taijutsu match, not after her training with Tsunade-sama, but she was able to take her down before she killed Kureha, and she didn't die from the multiple soldier pills she used afterward. And then when she ran afoul of the Hyuuga when she was trying to read Takeru, she was able to walk away from two members of a clan who prided themselves on their taijutsu. More recently, she saw how skilled Dr. Kyle was when he fought with Shikamaru and Chouji, but she was able to fight him on even ground while he ran circles around her two teammates, who used to be much better in physical fights than she was. "So why wasn't I able to protect them?" she demanded. "If I'm so strong, why couldn't I save them?"

Yuuko-san didn't even blink in the face of Ino's anger. "Not everyone has the same potential. You have reached yours, so you are stronger than most people of your world, but there are those whose max potential is above yours. I've heard of the Jinchuuriki in Konoha and seen him a few times. He has not reached his max potential, yet his current strength far surpasses yours. Even if you kept taking soldier pills in a one-on-one match, you would not be able to beat him. He is not alone in this regard, so in order for your wish to be granted, he cannot live. You will find that others around the world will have accidents or missions going wrong and will be unable to make a recovery. Only a few people will fall into this category, but it will be enough to possibly throw the whole shinobi world order into chaos."

I didn't want this. It never occurred to her that this sort of thing would happen. For a long time, she'd taken for granted Naruto's unmatchable strength and didn't even think that surpassing him was possible. Even with her wish, she'd assumed that he'd still be there to defend their homeland, cheerful and optimistic as ever. But she knew that if she were in a fight with Shikamaru, she would come out on top. His strength wasn't greater than hers, and she could probably beat Chouji, too.

She opened her mouth to ask, but she was interrupted when the sliding door on the other side of the room slid open. The two girls from before walked in, both wearing identical, sad faces. "Watanuki is in pain," the pink-haired girl murmured.

"Watanuki is in pain," echoed the pig-tailed girl. Their eyes reflected how worried they were.

"Has he woken up?" Yuuko-san asked, her eyes now as worried as theirs. They shook their heads no, and the Dimension Witch sighed. "Stay by his side," she told them, taking their hands. "And call Doumeki here; he'll be able to help ease the pain."

The two girls wandered back through the door, and Yuuko-san turned back to Ino. "Watanuki paid part of your price," she told her. "When the feather left your body, all the toxins it had been suppressing returned to your bloodstream and should have killed you. Thanks to him, all you've experienced is to this extent."

"Will he be okay?" asked Ino, momentarily diverted from her line of thinking thanks to this new development.

"We can only pray. He balances the line of life and death now."

"Why would he do that? Why would he put his life on the line for someone he doesn't even know?" They'd only met the one time, and she hadn't even been in his presence for more than five minutes.

Yuuko-san's unreadable, red eyes stared into Ino's brown ones. "He is a kind boy, and he knows you are a friend of Syaoran's. He also has a special sense of when important events will happen. When he felt that something was going to happen to you, he asked to pay the price to save your life. This was the best he could do."

Great, now she had another person's life on the line because of her. "What do I have to do to save them? To save everyone?"

"I'm afraid you can't. That would directly go against the original wish you made."

That brought her back to the other question. "Not even my teammates? I'm stronger than they are. That wouldn't go against anything!"

Yuuko-san sighed. "There are different types of strength, just as there are different types of people. For some, such as the Konoha Jinchuuriki, he gains his strength by defending his friends and having them fight beside him. Then there are others, such as yourself, who can't bring out your full potential if your friends are by your side."

That was the most ridiculous thing Ino had ever heard. "My friends make me stronger! How dare you say they weaken me!"

The pale woman ignored her outburst. Without changing expression, she continued. "When you were by yourself, you were able to do things that you didn't think were possible, even with your strength. However, when your friends were around, you relied on them to do the work. You knew they would get the job done, so you didn't have to push yourself as hard. It's the same attitude you had before you left Konoha to become stronger. Out there, you didn't have friends to rely on to back you up in a fight. You either succeeded or you failed, but it was only you."

Ino wanted to deny it, deny everything Yuuko-san said, but when she said point-blank what Ino was like, something wrenched in her gut. It wasn't indignation, anger that she was unjustly being accused of such behavior. It wasn't scorn that this noncombatant didn't know what she was talking about and was just pulling for any possible explanation. It was guilt. Ino hadn't wanted to face what Yuuko-san had just described, and she'd buried that knowledge so deep that she wouldn't have to. But now that someone brought it up and laid the facts out on the table, Ino couldn't say that it wasn't true. When Shikamaru said he couldn't rely on Ino as a teammate, it was because she let him and the rest of the team do the brunt work while she stayed in the back. Sure, she'd come forward on occasion, but she didn't face the same breed of opponents that her teammates did. It was also the unacknowledged reason she put off letting her shinobi friends know about her for so long. Tsunade-sama never said she had to do this alone, but she chose to keep them in the dark for as long as she could. Deep down, she knew what would happen if she had someone familiar to rely on for help. Even when she was in her Hikari persona, there were times when she relaxed her guard because she knew Chouji or Shikamaru were nearby and would have her back if she got into trouble.

Though everything Yuuko-san said was true, Ino wasn't going to let her friends die. She wasn't going to let Shikamaru die. "I have a wish I want granted."

Yuuko-san narrowed her red eyes slightly. "There is a price to pay."

"I'm willing to pay any price." How could she not when she was the cause of all that happened?

"Be careful with those words," the Dimension Witch warned her. "Some prices are too high for some to pay."

"I will do anything." Ino was going to stand by her words. Nothing was going to shake her resolve. "I want to save the villagers and my friends and Watanuki. Being the strongest shinobi has no meaning if they aren't there to protect."

The woman rose with grace that Ino would have envied if time and circumstance permitted and pulled Ino to a standing position. "We will go into the yard and communicate with Mokona."

"What are we going to do?" asked Ino as Yuuko-san towed her back to the front door. "How can we save them?"

The Dimension Witch set her down gently in the middle of the yard and stood before her, a black Mokona bouncing out of the house to stand at her side. A small breeze blew by, waving through Yuuko-san's long, black hair. Gray clouds covered the sun, sending shadows over the earth below. Outside the gate, pedestrians walked past, talking, laughing, running, but never looking inside at the trio in the yard. Yuuko-san's gaze held Ino's. "The feather inside your body originally belonged to Sakura. It's a physical manifestation of a memory, and it contains enough power that people have fought wars just to have ownership of one. If you give this feather back to her, she will be able to save those inside the village. However," she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "without that feather, you may never be able to mold chakra again. The toxins inside your body have destroyed your chakra coils. They may still destroy your organs and kill you, but the feather can neutralize them again if you take it back into yourself in time. That child has been known to leave her memories behind when it is a matter of life and death."

If she couldn't mold chakra, then Ino couldn't work as a shinobi, either. Everything she'd worked for her whole life…destroyed in the blink of an eye. Or in the time it took to reach a decision. If she couldn't be a shinobi, then what did she work so hard for in the past twenty or so years of her life? Why did she leave the village to become stronger when it was all in vain? It was either save her own life or save the lives of her comrades. When it came down to it, there wasn't even a decision to make. She was a shinobi, chakra or not, and a shinobi's duty was to give his life for the sake of the village. Yamanaka Ino couldn't let them die. She couldn't let Shikamaru die. "Please give the feather to Sakura," stated the kunoichi with a smile.

Yuuko-san gave a small smile in return and looked down at the black Mokona. "Call the other one," she ordered. "I'm sure they're waiting for news."

The blue jewel on its forehead glowed and projected an image of the other Mokona in the air before it. The Dimension Witch moved so she stood beside Ino and said aloud, "Get me Syaoran and Sakura."

The two were by the white Mokona in an instant, and Fye, Kurogane, and Misao were behind them. "How is she?" asked Syaoran.

"She is alive," answered Yuuko-san, glancing down at Ino by her feet. "She says that she is willing to return the feather to Sakura." Now she addressed Sakura directly, and Ino struggled to remain alert. The toxins in her body were taking a toll on her, and black areas danced around the edges of her vision again. "Sakura, in exchange for granting your wish of regaining your memories, she would like you to grant her wish and heal the people of the village. Are you willing to pay this price?"

Ino saw the girl nod vigorously, a determined look on her face from what she could make out with her fading eyesight. She was sure that there was verbal agreement to go along with the motion, but her hearing was too weak to make out the spoken response. Behind the small group, people ran back and forth to help the injured. Ino wasn't sure where they were, but she hoped they got to Shikamaru. The angle of the Mokona only showed the upper half of the people, not what was on the ground, which was where he would be if they were still beside him, Chouji, and Naruto.

While Ino was distracted, Yuuko-san seemed to finish up her conversation with the other side because the image winked out. The dazed kunoichi looked up at the Dimension Witch. She could see her mouth moving, but she couldn't hear the words coming out. The black-haired woman stepped away from Ino, and the golden pattern appeared around her again. Before her vision faded completely, Ino saw Yuuko-san looking at her with kind eyes and a small smile. It was the first and last time she saw that look on her face. Then the golden light swallowed her up, and she lost consciousness.

AAA

When awareness returned to Ino, the first thing she noted behind closed eyelids was that she was someplace dark. The pale reds that would symbolize light against closed eyes were missing, or else the light was too dim to make the color show. The second thing she noticed was that whatever she was laying on was quite uncomfortable. It was soft, but the sheets – yes, she recognized sheets under her – were scratchy, and hard lumps stuck into her back in a couple places. The blanket covering her body felt much nicer, but it wasn't enough to offset the discomfort from the rest of the bed. Once she realized how uncomfortable she was, it dawned on her that she wasn't in pain anymore. A dull throbbing was present all over her body, but it wasn't that nerve-piercing pain from before.

It took some effort to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt glued together, but she was bound and determined to see where she'd ended up. The fuzzy sight that greeted her once she was successful was the smooth, white surface of the hospital ceiling. In fact, it looked a lot like the one she stayed in with Sakura after she prevented her friend from killing Kureha. With much determination, she rolled her head to the side and saw the pink hair of Sakura in the next bed. She was sleeping, much like Ino had been. Ino's gaze took in the white that represented the bandages wrapped around her friend's wrists, and her stomach clenched. That was because of me, she thought. If I hadn't made that wish, there's no way Sakura would've… But it didn't matter anymore. The other Sakura agreed to save everyone, and that meant this Sakura, too. But what about Shikamaru? What about Chouji and Naruto? She tried to push herself into a sitting position, but she didn't move. Frowning, she tried again, but her arms and upper body didn't budge. A small knot of fear formed as she tried again and again to sit up, but she met with repeated failure.

The door to the hospital corridor outside opened, and two shadows shuffled in. From the unsteady weaving, Ino thought they were drunk and worried that they would do something to Sakura since she was the one closest to the door. Come on, body, move! She yelled at herself. After all the effort to save her, Ino wasn't going to let Sakura go down like this! Despite her strong will, her body refused to move, and Ino could feel tears of frustration building. Of all the times to be helpless, this was the worst!

However, her fears were unfounded as the stumbling shadows moved right past Sakura's bed and stopped by her own. Her eyesight was still hazy, but the more time passed, the clearer objects became. The shadowy blobs resolved into people shapes, and by the time they drew chairs up by her bedside, she recognized that one shadow was quite thin while the other one was quite large. Hope blossomed in her chest, chasing the fear away. All her fear dissipated when the thin shadow reached down and brushed her hair off her face with gentle fingers. She knew that touch anywhere. "Shikamaru," she whispered, her voice barely carrying past her own lips.

Both his and Chouji's now-visible faces smiled down at her. "Hey, Ino," her dark-haired teammate responded. "Welcome back. We weren't sure you were going to make it for a while."

"How…how long…?" Just talking exhausted her strength.

"Everything happened three weeks ago," answered Chouji. "We beat back the Earth Country army, and you've been in a coma ever since you came back from…wherever you were."

Shikamaru took up the tale. "That girl with you, she absorbed the feather that was inside you before and," he shook his head like he still couldn't believe it, "emitted this bright light from her body. When the light touched me, my wounds closed. I'm pretty sure Chouji was as near death as he could be without actually dying, but when I looked over, he was sitting up and moving around. Naruto and all the others, too."

A sigh of relief escaped Ino's lips. "Thank goodness," she breathed. My wish was granted. "You're both okay?"

They looked at each other, then back at Ino. "Well, we're alive," said the largest member of the team. "Everyone who was saved by her power is still weak, but we're getting better. Naruto's already running around the village, helping with rebuilding, but the rest of us can still barely walk down the hall."

"That Naruto has always been a fast healer," agreed Shikamaru. "The only one we were worried about was you. Hokage-sama wasn't sure you'd make it." He trailed off and looked away.

Ino knew what came after that and why he didn't want to say it. "I still may never mold chakra again," she finished for him. "Isn't that right?"

He bit his lip and nodded. It wasn't a surprise since the Dimension Witch had said as much before Ino made her wish. That knowledge didn't dull the sting she felt when Shikamaru confirmed it. Mustering up as much of a smile as she could, she said, "I'm just glad that everyone is all right. I wasn't sure…" She couldn't voice how frightened she'd been when she saw Chouji stabbed and Shikamaru cut open like he was a fillet. But it didn't matter now; they were both alive and on the mend.

The two men filled Ino in on what little they could. They weren't allowed out of the hospital yet; they weren't even supposed to leave their rooms, so the duo had to wait for Tsunade-sama and Shizune to leave before sneaking out so they could sit with her for a while. Ino wanted to talk with them, make it more of a conversation than a lecture, but it took more strength to talk than it did to listen, so she stayed silent except for a quiet interjection here and there. The kunoichi could see the strain this took on her teammates, too. Shikamaru's eyes drooped down, and the Akimichi had a definite tremor in his hands the longer he spoke. Not much time passed at all before Chouji patted her hand and rose slowly in an unsteady line. "I know he's been waiting for this moment for a while," he responded to Ino's questioning look. "He even gave you that blanket he always has with him. Said it always kept him safe, so maybe it would do the same for you. I'll leave you two alone so you can have a private reunion." He winked at the two of them while Shikamaru spluttered about Chouji keeping his mouth shut and made his way back across the room and closed the door behind him without a sound.

They just stared at each other after Chouji exited the room. What Ino wanted to do was throw herself into Shikamaru's arms and check him over to assure herself that he really was okay. Even though they told her all the events she remembered were three weeks past, the image of him bleeding to death was still fresh in her mind. Unfortunately for her, she still couldn't move under her own power and had to be satisfied with what she could see from where she reclined. Unless… "Shikamaru, pick me up?" It was a question because she wasn't sure how much strength he had. He and Chouji had trouble just walking straight across a room.

With careful hands, he lifted her into a sitting position and sat on the bed behind her so she would be supported by his chest. She couldn't see him, but she took comfort in the feel of him against her back and his hand as it stroked her hair in an absent-minded way. She thought he would berate her, get angry for once again getting herself into such a state, but he did no such thing. There was no doubt in her mind that if she was in better condition, he would have let her have it. But because she was in this state that pulled at his protective instincts, he was able to hold his comments back. Instead, all he did was stroke her hair. Every once in a while, it felt like he nuzzled the side of her head near her ear, but she wasn't positive. She didn't have full control of her five senses yet, and her sense of touch was still dulled.

When Chouji left the room, she'd started feeling anxious, but now she relaxed under Shikamaru's gentle ministrations. It was a nice feeling, having him touch her like this. She'd been so afraid that she'd never feel his touch again, and that feeling made her savor the moment all the more. "I thought he killed you," she whispered. "Dr. Kyle cut you so deep…there was so much blood…"

His strokes paused, but then they resumed after a second. "I've been in worse situations," he responded. His breath tickled her ear and sent a shiver down her spine. "You were the one we worried about the most. I didn't know what that feather was, but Chouji and I thought that if you didn't have it, you would die. The way you looked when that thing came out of you," a shudder ran through his body, "I never want to see you like that again."

"It was the price I had to pay," she murmured. "Given the chance, I'd do it again to save you and Chouji and everyone else." In most circumstances, the other protagonist would make some statement that he would never let her be in that sort of situation again because he would protect her, et cetera. However, they were both experienced shinobi, not some shining-eyed Genin fresh from the Academy. No one could guarantee that she would not be a situation where she had to choose between her life and her comrades' lives. That was the norm in their line of work.

Neither one of them spoke after that. Ino wasn't sure why Shikamaru stayed silent, but she was too tired to continue talking. Lack of mobility for such a long period of time could be quite tiring! Without another word passing between them, Shikamaru's soft motions lulled Ino back to sleep.

AAA

It took a long time before Ino was allowed to leave the hospital. Tsunade-sama wouldn't let her go due to her chakra coils being in such bad condition, and apparently at one point in time, they'd thought her organs were failing, just like Yuuko-san said might happen. However, thanks to the hard work of some dedicated medic-nin, her organs were saved, and the inflammation of her chakra coils had decreased. The medics weren't hopeful about the return of her chakra coil function, but Ino had to keep hoping; it was all she had at this point.

Someone, she wasn't sure who, broke the news to her parents that she was alive, and they'd come swooping in one morning, both openly sobbing, and refused to leave her side. It took some convincing for her father to do missions, but he refused to do any that took him out of the village. Tsunade-sama must have understood and didn't assign him anymore after his first refusal. It wasn't worth a clan war. It wasn't long after that that the news spread, and Ino found herself swamped with visitors. If it wasn't for the traffic control thanks to her parents, teammates, and Sakura, she was sure Tsunade-sama would've put a limit on visitors so she didn't exhaust herself.

When Ino originally saw Sakura in the bed next to her, she thought that Sakura was still in recovery, but it turned out that Sakura was on the team of medic-nin dedicated to saving Ino's body when it was failing. The pink-haired kunoichi volunteered to stay in the room with Ino so she could keep an eye on her at all hours and be on hand if something required quick action. The white Ino saw around Sakura's wrists were sweatbands, not bandages covering the scars from the incident. From time to time, Ino could see the depression take over Sakura, especially at night when it was just the two of them, but it didn't last, and Ino didn't see her eyes wander over to the sharp implements in the room or give other signs of a repeat performance. However, shadows had taken up permanent residence in her friend's eyes, and it didn't look like they were leaving anytime soon.

While Ino was still in her coma, all the nonresidents of Konoha took their leave. The army and the royal couple of Water Country made their way back home, and Misao's performance troupe left to find a new venue. From what Ino heard from various sources later, Lochia-dono, Mika, and Sayo were all alive and well. Ino assumed that the two women talked with Toya-dono or else talked things out between the two of them, but in the end, Toya-dono and Lochia-dono returned to Water Country while Mika and Sayo remained with the troupe. No one knew what words were exchanged with whom or if anyone was happy with the arrangement, but they were all out of Ino's reach now. It upset her that she didn't get to say good-bye to any of them, but at the same time, she didn't blame them. No one knew if she would ever wake up, and they all had other things to worry about. Maybe it was better this way, after all. Ino didn't know how she would've approached explaining the situation to Mika. Lochia-dono may have understood, but Mika was not familiar with the ways of the shinobi, and betrayed would probably come closer to what she felt, rather than understanding. Ino still felt a pang in her heart when she thought about her roommate and the child she helped her raise. Sayo wouldn't even remember her in a few years, but Ino didn't think she could ever forget the little girl she helped bring into the world.

On the day Tsunade-sama allowed Ino to leave the hospital, the day was beautiful, and the weather was warm on Ino's pale skin. Summer was already here, and Ino welcomed it with open arms. After years of only ice and snow, the sun and the heat it provided were as welcome as could be. She couldn't wait to step out and bask in the sunlight. Her bags, filled with everything her parents thought she could possibly need while in the hospital, were already downstairs, so she took one last look out the open window and made her slow way down the stairs. Even after long sessions of physical therapy, she had to be careful because quick movement would trigger shooting pangs throughout her body.

A smile lit up her face when she saw Shikamaru leaning against the wall next to her bags in the lobby. His expression went from bored to warm when he saw her hugging the staircase railing and walking down one step at a time. He was there with her while she went through her strength-training exercises so her legs could support her weight again, and he was there when she cried tears of frustration that she couldn't walk from the hospital bed to the door. Shikamaru knew what an accomplishment walking down the stairs was for her. "You ready?" he asked when she reached him.

Ino gave him a quick kiss and an excited smile. "I've been ready!" she declared. Hokage-sama was willing to give her apartment back to her, but since Ino was in no condition to be living on her own, she was going back home so her parents could keep an eye on her. It made Ino sad that she wouldn't be able to see Shikamaru every day like she did when she was Hikari, but it wasn't right to ask him to care for her and work as a full-time shinobi. It wasn't even possible to do both at the same time. She would have to be content with the small chunks of time she'd get to spend with him on his rare free time.

With Shikamaru carrying her bags, they made their slow way through Konoha. A lot of the damage done by the clashing armies was erased, but every so often, Ino saw a bit of roof that hadn't been fixed yet or a fence that was still broken and had the scorch marks visible. The memories those signs brought made Ino frown, but she pushed aside her melancholy. She'd have plenty more time to be sad over missing Mika, Sayo, and everyone else from the troupe. If she missed them that much, then she could always look for them once she recovered. The only ones who were almost certainly missing from her life for good were the five travelers from a different world. Chouji told her in great detail how they disappeared much like she did in an envelope of patterned light and were swallowed by the white Mokona, who then disappeared also. They left no trace of themselves behind, so Ino could only rely on her memories to prove that they existed here at all.

Her boyfriend seemed to sense her depressed mood and nudged her when she paused beside the blackened gate. "You should be more excited about leaving the hospital," he said. "You couldn't wait to get out before. Where did all that energy go?"

"Sorry," she apologized with a small smile. "I am glad to be out of there." It took a small amount of effort, but she put her thoughts aside for a later time.

Their meandering path led them past Shikamaru's apartment, and Ino was several steps ahead of Shikamaru by the time she realized he'd stopped. "Shikamaru? Are you okay?" she asked as she turned around. He'd done a good deal of damage to himself in the battle against Earth Country, and his leg still acted up every once in a while. "Do you want to rest for a bit?" He should've let her take a few bags. Why didn't he ask Chouji to help him with this?

"I'm fine for now," he assured her, but he was already walking up the path to his apartment. The keys jingled in his fumbling fingers. "I forgot to get something. Come on inside for a bit."

What could you need that you couldn't get it after dropping everything off? she wondered as she followed him through the door. It wasn't like she expected him to stay since he still had to take care of his Genin, and he'd mentioned earlier that he had to take them out to get some training in later today. Maybe he's going to the training grounds right after taking me back. The clear sound of bells followed by a loud thud and cursing gave credence to that theory. Ino would never forget the sound of those bells when Asuma-sensei had them work together to relieve him of both bells. It was good training, and she'd come to see that, but that didn't mean she had to like reminders of it. "Shikamaru, you could've just left my bags by the door," she called while adjusting a picture frame she'd put up during her stay. The man had just wandered straight back towards the bedroom with his arms still full of her bags.

"I think I'm going to need a bit of help back here," he shouted back. His voice sounded muffled, like he was calling through a blanket.

Ino sighed, but a fond smile slipped onto her face as she made her way to the back. "Honestly, what are you doing…" she trailed off as she turned into the area where her room used to be. His bedroom door was closed, so he had to be in the other room. When she stood in the doorway and looked in, she gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. Instead of the simple furniture that Shikamaru got for her to use as a temporary room, the bedroom set she had in her own apartment when she worked as a shinobi sat in its stead. Her lacy, purple curtains hung over the open windows and blew gently in the small breeze created by the ceiling fan. Walking forward on stilted legs, she ran her hand over the satin comforter on top of the bed and turned to Shikamaru, who stood by the dresser without her bags. Those were lined up at his feet. Her boyfriend looked nervous, like he didn't know how she would respond. Ino didn't know how to respond either. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I was hoping that you would stay," mumbled the shadow user, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was uncomfortable. He wouldn't look at her. "I wouldn't expect things to be the same as before, but you seemed to like it here." Shikamaru hesitated like he didn't know what to say next.

"What about my parents?" Ino prompted him. "They're expecting me to stay with them."

Now he seemed to gain some confidence. "I've already talked it over with them. It took a lot of talking, but your mother agreed if you did."

"So Dad didn't have a choice," Ino finished for him. If Inoichi's wife agreed to it, then the head of the clan could not go against it. For such a small woman who had no experience as a shinobi, she wielded a lot of power. That didn't mean Inoichi would be happy about the arrangement, but he wouldn't voice it in front of his wife.

They were quiet for a while, and Shikamaru shifted his feet uncomfortably. Ino could see the anxiety radiating off him. If her parents already knew, then her main worry was taken care of. Before she could say anything, Shikamaru asked, "So, what do you think? Do you want to stay here, or would you rather stay at your family's compound?"

"I'd love to stay, but that's too much of a burden on you," she answered after another moment of silence. "Tsunade-sama only let me go because I have someone to watch over me most of the time, and you still have your duties to attend to."

The man shook his head. "I told Tsunade-sama that I'm taking on fewer duties. As long Chouji and I work something out so one of us is always with you, she said she'll accept it. But don't feel like you have to stay if you'd rather not," he hastened to assure her. "I'll understand if you want your own space."

Well, that was a lie if she ever heard one. The blonde knew that she'd hurt him quite a bit if she decided to ignore all the effort he went through for her. Lucky for him, she had no intention of turning him down. Her parents had been glued to her hip when she was at the hospital, and as much as she loved them and loved being around them again, the close proximity reminded her of how happy she'd been to move out and get away from their overbearing presence. Stepping into his space and pulling him into a hug, she whispered, "Thank you, Shikamaru. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad you're here with me."

His arms closed around her back, and she felt the relieved sigh leave his lungs. "I never thought the day would come when Yamanaka Ino called my home hers, too," he murmured into her hair.

"Well, it's here now," she giggled and cuddled into his chest.

Giving her a squeeze, he chuckled with her. "I guess dreams do come true."

Sometimes, her thoughts responded, and she was glad that he couldn't see her face as it fell with the thought. Her dream of being strong enough to protect her village came true in a way, but she would never have the physical strength to fight enemies back like Naruto could, and she couldn't save anyone like Sakura could with medical ninjutsu because she may never be able to use chakra again. Stop that! Ino scolded herself for that line of thinking at such a moment. This is a whole new start for me. Like Yuuko-san said, there are different types of strength. I don't need physical strength or chakra to be strong. I can be strong in my resolve to keep going so that one day, I will have physical strength and chakra again. She glanced into the mirror beside them and saw how thin her limbs were. Little of the muscle she'd built over the years remained thanks to the work of those soldier pill toxins. It didn't matter. She would just keep working until she got that muscle back and could protect her loved ones instead of settling for the position of protected. "I've got a long way to go," she said aloud.

Shikamaru seemed to know what she was talking about. "You know I'll be right by you the whole way," he promised, resting his forehead against hers.

With her newfound goal and her steadfast support at her side, Yamanaka Ino was ready for the next phase of her life. High times, hard times, it didn't matter. She was going to conquer what life threw at her, and Shikamaru would be with her as her support and her pillar of strength. It wouldn't be easy, but who said any of this would be easy? The shinobi world called people strong that could overpower any opponent. Well, let the world come, and Ino would show them a different meaning to the term "to be strong".