1. circle
"I'm following you, you know."
The reply Ino received was little more than a growl.
"Well, you don't have to get all huffy about it. I'm just saying..."
The pineapple head snapped back around for an instant, no doubt about to quip out some biting remark. But seeing the pair of wicked green eyes staring at him out of a smirking face, Shikamaru thought better of it.
"Troublesome."
"What was that?" She leaned forward over his shoulder, straining to hear. Strands of blonde hair fell across his collar, tickling the skin – a sensation that was irritatingly difficult to ignore. He frowned.
"Didn't say anything." He muttered, extracting himself from his teammate as he trudged forward through the brush.
She shrugged.
"Well, whenever you're ready to stop circling around the subject, I'll be waiting." Her sing-song tone echoed in his ears, and he resisted the urge to sigh.
She could poke and prod all she wanted to – he was not going to budge on this issue. After all, his pride was at stake here.
And Shikamaru Nara was not about to admit that he was lost.
A/N: 1/50 for the OTP Bootcamp Challenge on the Anime and Manga Fanfiction Challenges Forum.
Happy September!