[ 3 Days Later - At The Hospital ]

Reina's View

I bit my lip and eyed my surroundings cautiously. I couldn't move, if I did now I would surely lose the battle here! I cursed quietly under my breath and glared at my opponent who wasn't nerved in the slightest. He was actually very calm and patient at a moment like this. His lips formed a small, yet sly smirk. 

"Do you give up yet?" He asked me, eyeing me up and down, waiting for me to decide on my next move. 

I clicked my tongue. 'What the hell am I supposed to do? No matter what I decide on doing he counters it like nothing. From the looks of things, I'm going to lose no matter what. It was destined.' Sighing softly, I narrowed my eyes and made up my mind. Moving to the side, I ended my turn.

"I win." He muttered out.

I smacked my forehead and leaned back with a loud groan escaping past my lips, "For the love of Jashin I suck at this damn game!" I whined. 

Shikamaru chuckled at my response to my loss. He placed his Shogi piece down and leaned back. 

"You're not too good at Shogi, huh, Reina?" He stated simply.

I nodded my head glumly and pouted, "Right you are, Shikamaru. You're the master of this game! Literally. You beat me twenty times in a row, what kind of luck is that!?" I exclaimed, leaning over the board, inching closer to him. 

Shikamaru clicked his tongue and turned away from me, a pink hue coating his cheeks. 

"What a drag... You woman over exaggerate things. To put it simply, I actually know how to play unlike you, that's all. There's no real luck in this game. Only strategy." He mused.

I blinked and slowly processed what Shikamaru just said. I narrowed my eyes at him and sat back down. 'Strategy, huh? So that's something I lack.' I pondered, gaining information on things I lacked just by playing a simple game of Shogi with Shikamaru. 

Shikamaru sighed and turned towards me after he was down blushing. He leaned forward and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. 

"So, Reina... Care to explain why you and Naruto suddenly have this bond?" He asked me randomly, changing the subject from Shogi to my relationship status with Naruto.

I rose an eyebrow, keeping my cool, "What do you mean? Naruto and I have always had a bond. We're teammates." I stated, confusion lacing my words. 

Shikamaru shook his head, "Not like that. I know that you two should have a close bond since you're a team and all, but I mean why are you two suddenly always with each other now?" He restated his question now.

"I was watching him train with Pervy-sage, nothing special." I said. He looked at me in a way that said, 'keep-going'. I sighed, "Naruto came up to me and told me about this old guy that was going to train him for the Chunin Exams, but being a little suspicious and hesitant unlike Naruto, I went on ahead and met the man for myself. With Naruto's help of course."

"Pervy-sage?" He questioned me with his an eyebrow raised.

I nodded and glared at him weakly, "Yeah, Pervy-sage. Now stop interrupting me, I thought you wanted me to explain what happened." I scolded him, earning a sweat drop in response.

I cleared my throat and continued where I left off before I was interrupted, "When I met him...well, let's just say he didn't necessarily seem to like me seeing that he pushed me off a cliff to my death." I stated with a grin.

Shikamaru frowned, "He pushed you to your...death?" He asked me again just to confirm he has heard correctly.

I nodded, "Yeah... He pushed me to my death. Luckily Naruto summoned that Chief toad." I muttered out, a small smile forming on my lips as the memory.

I could remember it all like the back of my hand. I guess traumatic-like experiences never leave your mind. Still, despite it being traumatic-like, Naruto saved me. That's all that matters to me at this point.

"Well then, that really didn't answer what I asked you in the first place, but I'll let you pass for now." He stated.

I grinned and scratched my cheek nervously, "Sorry, Shika!"

He sighed and glanced back at Naruto, "Wow, he's sound asleep." He muttered, "I wonder if he's dead..."

I shook my head, a smirk tugging at the corner of my lips. "You wish."

Shikamaru suddenly gasped, "Huh? What... Are you serious? It's all clogged up... What a drag." He sighed.

I laughed, "Let's be honest and say that everything is a drag to you." I added.

Before Shikamaru could respond, a groan came from Naruto. That was the first sound I had heard him make in the past day. I grinned and jumped out of my seat, rushing towards his side. His eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing his sky blue eyes.

"Yo! So you finally decided to wake up?" Shikamaru said.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru, then he glanced over at me.

"It's nice to have you back." I added.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, everything passing through his ears.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"The hospital." I replied.

"They told us that you've been asleep for three days and three nights." Shikamaru chipped in. I nodded to confirm what he said.

Naruto blinked, "Three days?" Suddenly his eyes flew wide open and he shot out of bed, "THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS?!"

I blushed at the clothing he was wearing. It was a plain black shirt and a pair of what looked to be gray boxer shorts. I covered my eyes with a yelp.

"W-What?!" Shikamaru stammered out.

"Shikamaru! When does the final competition start?!" Naruto shouted.

I kept my eyes covered just in case as I listened in to their conversation. I had actually completely forgot about the final part for the Chūnin Exams.  I hadn't really trained one bit either. Well, I haven't trained to my best...

"T-Tomorrow."

"What?!" Naruto yelled out loudly, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?! I can't just be snoozing around in a place like this! And Pervy-sage! What about Pervy-sage! I need him to watch over my training!"

"Huh?! What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Shikamaru snapped, "I don't know what's gotten into you!"

I decided that it was enough. I uncovered my eyes and glared at Naruto who was doing nothing but causing a havoc.

"Where's my clothes?! They're missing! Where are they? Where! Where!" He screeched.

I twitched at Naruto's absurd behavior.

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down for a second, Naruto!" I shouted. 

Naruto froze at my voice, his butt sticking out in the air. I let out a puff of air and crossed my arms.

"Why are you in a hurry anyways? It's a day before the finals, yeah. But that doesn't mean you can ignore your friends." I muttered out bitterly.

When Naruto didn't respond to that, I started to get worried...more than I was already before. 

"Naruto...?" I asked, worry laced in my voice.

No answer.

I gulped and stepped closer to him, "Are you okay?" I tried asking again.

Naruto spun around and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me frantically.

"I'm hungry, dattebayo!"

Shikamaru and I sweat dropped.

'He's back...'

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A/N: I am so sorry for the short and filler-like update I have given you all! I just seem to be struggling with school more than I intended to, hehe. Welp, updates are slow and school is taking over my life again. But fear not, chapters will still be coming out but on a once a week schedule! 

*clears throat* Ahem, I also wanted to say something... Good luck to those of you who have started or are barely starting school! If you need to talk to me about anything, don't be afraid to private message me. I'm here for you all ;)