"Bye Choji! Make sure you hurry up and get better 'kay?" I said flashing him a bright smile. I closed the door to his hospital room gently and let out a frustrated sigh. As usual Choji went and overdid it, now look at him, even I couldn't heal him. And yet he still has that same brave smile plastered on his face. I turned and began walking down the narrow corridor to the hospital exit. I'm beat, that mission was intense! I wonder where Shikamaru is. I thought as I wandered past the front desk and out the wide glass doors. I sighed and ran a hand through my long blond fringe; my eyes scanned the sidewalk as I continued to strut down the street. I rounded a corner and came face to face with Kiba Inuzuka. "Ugh! Watch it Kiba! You startled me!" I exclaimed. "Oh hey! Sorry about that Ino didn't see ya there!" Kiba laughed as he shot me a goofy side grin. "Hm. Don't worry about it; guess I'm just a little on edge after my mission." I confessed. "Hey no problem, I get like that sometimes too." He said in a sympathetic tone. "Oh, by the way Ino, I just saw Shikamaru. Is he okay? He looked a little down." Kiba said with a frown. "Really? I haven't seen him since we got back from the mission… I'll go and check on him now. Thanks Kiba!" I replied with a cheeky grin and a wink before heading off down the path without waiting for a response. I found Shikamaru slouching on a nearby bench with his head resting in his arms, staring up at the clouds in the beautiful blue sky. He had a frown on his face and was obviously deep in thought. "Hey Shika, how's it going?" I asked cheerfully before sliding onto the bench next to him. "Hm? Yeah, I'm alright" He replied in his deep level voice. Not unlike Shikamaru, but I've been his teammate long enough to know that something's up. "I thought you would be at home resting Shikamaru! This is out of character; the Shikamaru I know would be snuggled up in his bed sleeping." I teased. He closed his eyes slowly as if trying to shut out the world around him and he let out a long sigh. "You're right… Have you been to see Choji?" He asked curiously. "Huh? Yeah, he should be fine! You on the other hand, I'm not so sure about, are you okay?" I asked abruptly as I leaned in closer to him and placed a hand on his knee. "Uhh, yeah, I'm fine, really… I guess I'm just worried about Choji." He mumbled unconvincingly. "Hmm, well I know what'll cheer you up! How's about a game of shoji? Bet cha a bowl of Ramen that I can kick your ass!" I challenged smugly as I leapt to my feet. Shikamaru let out a slight laugh and gently rose to his feet, "Alright, you're on!"
"Checkmate. I win! Seriously Shika? There's no way I could beat you in a game of shoji. Really Shikamaru, I'm worried about you. Tell me, what's wrong?" I said, concern laced in my voice. He turned his head away from me and stared at the peaceful clouds once again. He let out a frustrated sigh, "You girls are such a drag, always nagging at me…" He groaned half-heartedly. I could see his eyes saddening and I reached out and put my hand over his. I feel like I can't really be myself around anyone else besides Shikamaru… If other people were around he would totally be on his own! "It's okay Shika." His dark eyes wandered down to our hands and he gave a weak scowl. "Ugh, fine. I suppose you could say that I'm disappointed in myself, Choji got badly injured on this mission and I couldn't help him. What if something like that happens to you? I couldn't live with myself, Asuma told me to look after you two." He admitted slowly and sadly. Wow, would he have confessed that to anyone else? My turquoise eyes locked with his ebony ones, he still wore that blank expression, like he didn't have a care in the world. I don't really think that this is about Asuma at all… "Hey, what are you talking about? You know that I can take care of myself and we both know that Choji doesn't need protection! We're a team Shikamaru! You don't need to worry about us all of the time; we're here to protect you too!" I said enthusiastically. Shikamaru's cheeks turned a pale shade of pink and he flung his hand behind his head and rubbed his neck. I jumped to my feet and walked around the shoji table, I leant down and gently placed my hand on Shika's cheek, I guided his face closer to mine and closed my crystal blue eyes. I drew nearer to his face and placed my lips against his warm skin, I could feel his tense at the sudden embrace and I pulled away. His hand shot up to the place where my lips met his cheek and his face turned a deeper shade of red. I removed my hand from his face and slowly rose to my feet; he glanced up and met my gaze. Shikamaru's hand fell to his lap as he regained his composure. I flashed him a bright smile and ruffled his hair with my hand, "Now cheer up, okay? We're gonna be on a lot more missions together so you better get used to us getting hurt! I'll see ya tomorrow Shika! I believe you owe me a bowl of Ramen!" I exclaimed playfully as I twirled on my heel and began bounding out of the house, my blond hair flowing behind me. I was stopped by the sound of Shikamaru's husky voice:
"Hay, Ino… Thanks"