Well, a Shikamaru and Ino relationship from a different angle. Let's see how this story turns out to be...
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Shikamaru, this is Ino Yamanaka."
Five-year-old boy looked with mild interest at the little girl, hiding behind her father's leg. He looked up to his own dad with questioning look, then focused on the small blonde again. She peeked at him with quiet curiosity and that characteristic, childish shyness, while her father tried to unwrap thin arms from his leg.
The boy heard his father telling mom this morning that they'll be having guests for dinner- but he never mentioned that there will be a little girl too. A fragile looking blonde with big, blue eyes who was currently gently pushed towards him by her father.
"Go outside kids and play a little on the sun." His father opened the kitchen door, showing an entrance to the big, grassy garden. The Nara obediently went outside, wondering briefly what should he do next and the Yamanaka quickly scurried, glancing with small fascination and fear at the scarred face of a bearded man. With comparison to her own dad- who had smooth facial skin and a long, blond ponytail- Shikamaru's father had to be equal to a monster from other planet.
"Shikamaru, be nice to her, she's such a sweet girl!" He could hear his father shout at the children, already few steps in the garden. The pale skin on Ino's face colored a little and she smiled happily, while Shikamaru groaned inwardly. They had to stick to his garden strictly- if they went out on a playground, his friends would have a fit, watching him playing with a girl.
As the door behind them shut, the girl instantly forgotten her shyness and turned to the boy. "What are we going to do?" she asked excitedly, smiling a wide grin. Unwillingly, Shikamaru found his lips quirking upwards as well.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"Well...we could play house...I'll be a mommy and you'll be a daddy!"
His smile fell, replaced by a look of annoyance and embarrassment. "No way. I'm not playing any girlish games." He said stubbornly, shoving hands into pockets and bending his head slightly. His body reminded of a deer in defense pose, ready to fight if necessary.
Of course, Ino didn't know that. "Well, I'm not playing any of your stupid boyish games!" She crossed her arms on her chest and glared at him. He stifled an yawn, waiting for her next move.
"If you don't want to play house we can collect flowers."
"How about watching clouds?"
That caught her interest. "What's it about?"
He scratched his head, realizing how stupid this will sound to an energetic, ordinary child. "Well...we lie on the grass, even right here and just...watch the clouds." He watched how she made a pout with rosy lips.
Cute.
"That's so boring. I want to play house or collect flowers!" She stamped her foot on the ground and huffed with anger.
Not cute.
"Come on, watching clouds isn't that bad...you can...uh, guess the shapes of clouds and all... It's not bad!" Just now he noticed what a perfect weather it was for a session of cloud watching. If only he could persuade her...
"I want to play house or collect flowers." The blonde replied, scowling horribly. He made a show to appear a stoic, unaffected male on the outside. However, on the inside, he was very unease at the temper she'd shown.
"Alright, let's do like this: you'll play house, collect flowers or whatever and I'll go cloud watching. How does that sound?" Perfect, he thought trying to compromise. That simple way they both get what they want.
His companion wasn't satisfied. "I don't want to do it all alone. It'll be boring that way."
"Too bad because I'm not going to do it with you." He growled, his patience snapping. The clouds still continued to pass as they talked. He also crossed his arms on his chest stubbornly.
An evil smile appeared on her lips. "Oh yes you will."
He quirked his eyebrow. "Really? How's that?"
"Your dad ordered you to be nice to me." A triumphant expression appeared on her face, as if right now she solved all global problems.
"I am being nice. I'm allowing you to do whatever you want; isn't that nice?" He replied, watching the look on her face turn into a bewildered than irritated. She gritted her teeth a little; he could hear it and briefly wished she'd chop one or even two.
"Fine then." Before he could respond to the statement, he felt a hard push on his chest...and the next thing he knew, he was falling on his back.
He could feel mud (it was raining recently) splash all over his body and two small hands in his hand, pulling the ponytail. Survival instincts kicked in and his limbs began thrashing around aimlessly, before he got a hold of himself and shoot upwards.
Panting, Ino stood in front of him, her hands covered in mud as well as her blue dress. She had a furious, almost wild expression on her face and small tears were falling down her cheeks. Shikamaru felt his breath get caught in his throat, all insults forgotten.
"Fine then." She repeated, turned around and stomped towards the flowery part of the garden. Shikamaru glared with hatred at her retreating form.
Serves her right, stupid pig!
With a sigh, he looked over his clothes. All covered in mud. He winced as he felt his ponytail terribly messed and dirty.
Troublesome.
Sighing again, this time heavier, he fell on his back and watched the passing clouds. A small pang of guilt made him wonder if he should go after the blonde, but then decided it wasn't worth it. If she got hurt, well, it's all better to him.
"This is for you, Mrs. Nara." A messy bouquet was handed towards the dark-haired woman, held by small, pale hands. Ino was standing on her toes, smiling gleefully and with slight embarrassment, her eyes shining at the surprised female.
"Oh, thank you so much, dear!" She took the flowers and smelled them, with a smile on her face. "They're beautiful...Thank you very, very much." Her hand caressed smooth blonde hair and her brown eyes turned a little worried. "But...you're all covered in mud! Oh, did you go through this much just to give me flowers? You didn't have to..." She bent down and kissed the obviously happy girl on the forehead. Shikamaru glared at the two females.
Heh, look at her now. All happy-go-lucky. Idiot.
He felt his mother's gaze turn into steel when she looked at him. "And why are you that muddied, Shikamaru?" She asked suspiciously, with held back anger. "What were you doing, rolling in the mud like a pig? I guess that's possible, all you do every day is lay on that field..." The boy chose to remain silent, not looking at Ino who smiled innocently when Inochi glanced suspiciously on her.
The guests left shortly after and the small Nara was placed in the bathtub, where his mother scrubbed his scalp furiously, all the time ranting how much work she's forced to do because of him.
Later, when she brushed his long, dark bangs and he winced at every knot, she started cooing over the little Yamanaka brat, emphasizing how sweet she is, just because she gave her flowers. He snorted quietly, biting on his tongue to prevent himself from saying anything.
When he was about to fall asleep, Shikamaru came to a conclusion that Ino Yamanaka was a person he truly hated, from the bottom of his heart, with ever fiber of his being. And that he doesn't want to have anything to do with her, never ever.
Ouch. Not a smooth start, is it? Let's see how it develops in the next chapters...REVIEW! Your opinions always make me all happy!
I am very unsure when it comes to this story. At first I thought OMG, this is too OOC! But then I thought how many fics have Sakura and Sasuke hating each other? I mean, Sakura loves Sasuke, she wouldn't hate him. And Sasuke hates only his bro, Itachi. How OOC is that?
Hate that turns into love matches ShikaIno pairing much more. That's how I feel.