Haunted
Part 1
Theme #30 - Jasmine
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
A light breeze swept through the fields of Konoha carrying with it a hint of jasmine.
It passed across the hilltop on which Shikamaru Nara lay relaxing and ruffled his dark brown hair. His eyes snapped open as he caught the scent hidden in the breeze and he sat up, cringing. She wore jasmine.
He couldn't say when he first realized it, only that when he did become aware of it, it surprised him - he didn't peg her as the type of girl who wore perfume. Certainly she thought herself above such frivolous things? Well regardless, she did and he would catch a whiff of it sometimes when she got too close to him (and these days it certainly seemed like that happened more often than it should) or when he annoyed her and she stalked off, making sure to pass just close enough to have to brush him aside in her haste.
Thinking about it (as he found himself more and more prone to do these days), he found it suited her - that heady aroma that instantly inundated the senses and then remained with you for hours afterward. It was similar to the bewitching effect that she herself had on him, although he was sure (and glad) that she wasn't yet aware of it. He certainly hoped things would stay that way - Goodness knows what would happen if she understood just how much she could affect him.
Honestly it had made very little difference to him at first ("So she wore perfume? What did that have to do with him?") but now, now it was becoming a problem because these days it seemed like he smelled it wherever he went. And that would have been fine - except he associated jasmine with Temari so it was as though she was everywhere he went.
The aroma of jasmine was haunting him and so she was haunting him.
And now she had invaded his hill. Sighing, Shikamaru rose from his position on the hill, brushed off any stray blades of grass on his clothes and started walking down to the main part of the village. He had a day off today and so he was trying to just relax and take it easy after several weeks of grueling missions. In addition to that, he was trying to rid himself of this jasmine curse before Temari returned to Konoha and he would have to resume his position as her guide (why she still needed a guide after all these years was a mystery, even to him) which coincidentally was scheduled to happen the very next day.
Shikamaru stretched and placed his hands on his head absently as he walked through the village streets. He was just wondering what to do next when Chouji came into view. Seeing him, Chouji's face lit up and he started towards him, "Hey Shikamaru! What are you up to?"
Shikamaru shrugged in reply, "Nothing really. You?"
"I was just about to head to Ino's parents' shop - I've got to drop something off for her. Do you want to come with?"
Shikamaru frowned - if he went to Ino's flower shop, there was a chance that he would end up smelling jasmine again. On the other hand, the intermingling scents of all those flowers might be just what he needed to drive the jasmine out of his mind. For the sake of his sanity, he hoped it was the latter. "Sure. And we can get something to eat afterwards."
Chouji's eyes lit up at the thought of food and he quickened his pace, "Let's hurry then!" Rolling his eyes at his friend's reaction, Shikamaru followed him at the same, leisurely pace.
In no time at all (thanks to Chouji), they had reached the flower shop and as soon as they entered, they spotted Ino behind the counter, chatting with a middle-aged lady. The two boys hung back, waiting politely until Ino was done with her customer.
Simply because there wasn't anything else to do, Shikamaru began to roam through the shop, eyeing the array of flowers before him. As he passed a bunch of daisies, he wondered absently what would happen if he bought flowers for Temari. 'She'd probably look at them disdainfully and then throw them in my face,' he thought bitterly. Then he frowned and shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts - why would he want to give her flowers anyway?
"Excuse me, young man." Shikamaru looked up and saw that the woman that Ino had been talking to was standing in front of him. Mumbling an apology, he moved aside and allowed the lady to pass. He was about to start over to the counter when he froze. Jasmine again...he looked around wildly, searching for the source of his turmoil but didn't see any jasmine flowers in his vicinity.
Sighing again, he walked up to the counter where Ino and Chouji were conversing, "Hey Ino."
She looked up at him and her blue eyes sharpened with concern, "Hey. What's up with you? You look haunted."
Now Shikamaru hadn't told anyone about his dilemma, not even Chouji and he certainly didn't plan on telling Ino. Goodness knows what kind of crazy ideas she'd get in her head. Shikamaru shook his head and instead of answering her question, said, "Do you guys sell jasmine flowers?"
Frowning a little in confusion, Ino nodded, "Yeah but we don't have any in stock right now. I just sold my last batch to Isuzu-san - the lady that just left."
His eyes widened in understanding and he sighed - so that's where the smell had come from. Then he turned his gaze back to Ino who, he noted with trepidation, was wearing a knowing smile, "Why do you ask? Were you planning to get some for a certain someone?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "No, I was just wondering."
Her smile transforming into a wicked smirk, Ino pressed on, "Well, for future reference, you shouldn't buy that flower for just anyone."
"Why not?" Chouji jumped in.
Her eyes gleaming wickedly (causing Shikamaru to wonder if she'd developed some sort of mind reading jutsu), Ino responded, "It represents sensuality. Didn't you know?"
Sensuality. With one word, Ino had caused all sorts of unbecoming images to flood poor Shikamaru's already exhausted brain. "I'm going to wait outside, alright Chouji? See you Ino," he said quickly, escaping to the relative safety of the street, away from the suspicious, probing eyes of his female team-mate.
So jasmine represented sensuality, huh? Well if anything, it suited her even more now. What with her form fitting black kimono, her devious green eyes which always seemed to have some secret glittering behind them and her -
"Shikamaru." He looked up and realized suddenly that Chouji was standing next to him. "Are you ready to go?" Shikamaru nodded and without even talking about it, they started walking in the direction of their favourite barbecue restaurant.
"Are you okay, Shikamaru? You've been acting kinda weird lately." Chouji asked as he stowed his chips in his pouch, then glanced at Shikamaru, his face wrinkled in concern.
Shikamaru sighed for the third time that day, "Not really, Chouji. But I don't wanna talk about it - it's stupid."
Chouji continued to look concerned but unlike Ino, didn't press the issue since he knew when to butt out. They continued walking along in fairly comfortable silence and in five minutes had reached their destination. As soon as they entered, the waitress smiled and led them over to a table in the back - she was used to seeing the two of them come in on week days and so she always placed them in the same spot (once it was available).
Chouji and Shikamaru sat down and Shikamaru immediately handed the waitress his menu - he always ordered the same thing, after all. Smiling, she nodded at him and left, knowing that Chouji would have his order ready when she returned. Surprisingly though, she returned after only a few minutes bearing two warm drinks.
"We didn't order those," Shikamaru told her. Chouji was too busy perusing the menu to respond.
She smiled, "Oh, it's on the house today! We're giving tea to everybody. We just got a new shipment and we're testing them out so everyone has something different." As she spoke, she set a cup down in front of each teenager, "I'll be back for your order soon, Chouji-san!"
Chouji grunted in reply and she left, off to deal with another table. Shikamaru looked down at the cup of tea suspiciously. 'A new shipment, huh? I hope it's something good,' he thought as he lifted the cup to his lips and then froze as the aroma hit him. You guessed it - the waitress had given him jasmine tea. Sighing, Shikamaru put down the cup and placed it to the side, then placed his head on the table.
Today just wasn't his day. And tomorrow, well surely, tomorrow wouldn't be any better.
A/N: Next chapter - Temari arrives! Wonder how Shika'll react? Written for the LJ community, 30 flowers.