A/N: Do not fret, readers. I am very much working on Hourglass and CBMB... this was just a little break I felt I needed.
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The Birthday Gift
By: Kikushi
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Ino Yamanaka rolled out of bed grouchily, the sour mood she'd had last night returning with a vengeance as her mind began to rouse from her sleep. She stared at her bedside calendar with a weary sigh and a full-blown pout on her lips. It was September twenty-two. Shikamaru's birthday.
As per custom, their joint birthday party was to be held the day after, on her birthday, but Ino never failed to make sure that she was the first to give Shikamaru his birthday present on his actual birthday. Like, today. Right now.
Still pouting, Ino dragged herself out of her room. She had failed her personal mission to find an awesome kick-ass birthday present for Shikamaru. This year she had wanted it to be extra super special, but it looked like this year would be the first year she'd be unable to give him anything instead.
Ino stomped down the stairs, making enough noise for five bulky civilians. She stopped abruptly when she saw her father standing nervously at the bottom step, clutching what looked to be a scroll. Ino gaped at it openly, her sour mood soaring to infinity.
"Don't tell me—!" she began in a high screech, her small hands fisting at her sides in fury.
Inoichi Yamanaka intervened quickly, his eyes widening at the sight of his one and only daughter's growing wrath. "No, no!" he interrupted, holding up his hands in a sign of peace and surrender. "It's not for you. Settle down."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Ino took the last few steps down the staircase and stood beside her father. "So then it's for you? You're going on a mission? When?"
"Later today," he responded, looking too guilty for something that was out of his control. "I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to your birthday party tomorrow…"
Ino's face fell dramatically, adopting the full pout that she'd had on earlier. She opened her mouth to object when Inoichi began anew, his timing too impeccable to pass as mere coincidence.
"That's why I thought I should give you your present now."
At the mention of a gift, the blonde girl perked up. "Oh, daddy! You didn't have to," she said, smiling sweetly. Then, noticing his lack of anything shiny and wrapped up in ribbons, Ino placed her hands on her hips and frowned in confusion. "…Well? Where is it?"
Inoichi grinned sheepishly and motioned for Ino to follow him. "I'm going to teach you a new jutsu."
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Four hours later, the sun was up high in the sky and Ino was strutting casually on the streets of Konoha, dressed in her casual orange t-shirt and denim shorts. Her expressive bright blue orbs were gleaming with unsuppressed mischief and her face was strained with the effort of trying to hold back laughter.
Daddy… I love you so freaking much, thought Ino, biting her lip as an old lady and her husband passed her by. Anymore of this, and she'd have a bloody lip for sure. Ino reveled in the memory of acquiring her new gift with a huge grin on her face.
"Now, Ino. This jutsu is fairly easy to learn. Should take about a couple of hours at most."
She frowned up at her father but said nothing. This had better be worth it. "Okay… but what jutsu am I supposed to be learning?"
"It's a mind-reading technique."
It was so totally worth it.
As though taking the starry-eyed look in his daughter's eyes as an ill omen, Inoichi quickly backtracked into a lecture. "But it's not to be used for petty matters! Remember that the mind is a personal thing, Ino. To read the minds of others is the ultimate invasion of privacy. I am entrusting you with this secret technique because I feel you are mature enough to handle it, as it can prove to be useful at times. After all, you are turning seventeen tomorrow. I trust you enough to teach it to you. Am I right to assume that you won't let me down?"
Ino stifled a giggle at the memory. Best. Birthday. Present. EVER. Hands-down!
Awww… what daddy doesn't know won't hurt him, thought Ino happily, thoroughly enjoying the mind-chatter of the unaware civilians around her.
She walked a little further down the street and her eyes caught a brilliant shade of pink and orange heading towards the Ichiraku Ramen.
Sakura and Naruto! Perfect!
Pushing her way through the crowds, Ino cupped her mouth and called out to them, "HEY! Billboard-brow! Narutooo!"
"WHAT? What was that you called me, Ino-pig?" Sakura's loud voice yelled back angrily while Naruto only smiled in acknowledgment. They both waited for the blonde girl to catch up to them before entering the establishment together.
Ino hid a devilish smile as she lagged a little bit behind her friends on purpose. Furrowing her brows slightly in concentration, she directed an intense gaze at the back of her pink-haired companion's head.
I can't wait until tomorrow! Ino's totally going to freak when I give her that purple hair clip she's been going on and on about!
Ino barely held back a gasp as Sakura's thoughts flowed through her own mind. Unable to hide her excitement, she pounced on the pink-haired girl who emitted a surprised 'eep' at the seemingly random bear hug. "Sakura, you are the best!" the blonde squealed, while her friend grew pink from the curious stares they were receiving.
"W-what the hell, Ino!" she stammered, flustered.
Ino pulled away and her eyes found Naruto's—
Man… how long is she gonna stick around? I was supposed to spend this day alone with Sakura-chan… dattebayo…
Ino snickered, much to her friends' bewilderment, and skipped away from them with the air of knowing something she shouldn't. "Hey, I just remembered something I had to do!" she called back to them, grinning from ear to ear. "You guys enjoy your date, okay?"
"Wh—! We're not out on a date!" Sakura yelled after her friend, blushing furiously.
"Eh, what's up with Ino-chan?" Naruto asked from beside his teammate, when really he was just thanking the other blonde silly in his head.
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Ino was laughing like a crazy bitch and Team Gai was starting to look really worried for her sanity.
"Ino-san, what is wrong with you? Could it be that you have eaten some of those laughing mushrooms that threaten to destroy the youth of our generation?"
Ino's laughter grew ten-fold and Tenten sighed in exasperation as she pulled her well-meaning, yet totally unhelpful, teammate away. "Not helping, Lee…"
Beside Tenten, Neji Hyuuga frowned in irritation. How long was she planning on wasting their time? The blonde girl had stumbled upon the trio as they were making their way to their training grounds and she'd blurted out the most inane and random statement he'd ever heard in his life.
"Out of all the other teams, you guys have the most unique hairstyles."
And after a few short seconds, she'd promptly burst out laughing and was practically in tears with mirth.
Well of course his hair was perfect, thought Neji. His had to be the best in his team— after all, he shampooed his hair daily before applying conditioner and thoroughly brushed it before going to bed every night. Tenten's hair looked as though she'd put them up since birth and had never taken them down ever since and Lee's… well, it was beyond words. He probably used his fruit bowl to help him cut his hair.
Neji snapped back to attention when Tenten heaved another sigh. She approached Ino cautiously. "I'm not sure I get the joke," she said, eyeing the cackling blonde with a wary eye, "but you're really starting to freak me out here…"
Tenten thought back to Ino's out-of-the-blue statement about their hair, wondering what could've set the younger girl off. In truth, Tenten didn't think her hair was special at all. But Neji's hair— it was something to look at. She'd always wondered how Neji kept it looking so high-glossed and tangle-free. He makes a better girl than me, Tenten thought grudgingly. She winced when Ino suddenly emitted a particularly high-pitched squeal of laughter.
"Ah!" Lee exclaimed loudly, smiling when his completely confused teammates turned to look at him, "Perhaps Ino-san is just exhibiting a youthful way of expressing her appreciation of the hairstyle that I share with Gai-sensei! It is a mark of the fire of youth which we share, and Gai-sensei himself taught me how to cut it by using an ordinary fruit bowl—"
Ino's screaming laughter reached new levels and Tenten slumped in annoyed defeat before turning away. "Forget her, let's just go train now…"
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The blonde was skipping merrily around the village, thoroughly enjoying her new power— that is, until she rounded a corner and collided painfully with another body.
"Owww! S-sorry," Ino exclaimed, rubbing her throbbing head and peeking around the curb. Her eyes lit up when she found a pair of white-lavender orbs staring meekly back at her. "Hinata-chan!"
"Ahh… I-Ino-chan…" the Hyuuga heiress greeted softy. She was also clutching her head in pain. In her other hand, she held a scroll.
"What's that you got there?" Ino inquired curiously, "Are you going out on a mission?"
Hinata shook her head slowly. "No… I-I saw Shizune-san and she asked me to deliver this to Sakura-san… It's her hospital schedule for next week."
"Ah! I just saw her, you know!" said Ino brightly, "She's eating at the Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto-kun!"
At the mention of the hyperactive ninja, Hinata blushed furiously. "N-Naruto-kun?"
That ugly conniving bitch!
Ino's eyebrows shot up as the spiteful thought entered her head. She looked around the street, but found that it was empty save for her and her gentle Hyuuga friend.
How dare she play around with his heart! Always going on about Sasuke-kun and never thinking about Naruto-kun's feelings! That evil little bitch!
Ino's eyes widened and she brought up a hand to cover her mouth in shock when the realization hit her. Inner Hinata was terrible! Torn between laughter and the urge to defend her best friend, Ino settled for a small coughing fit.
"Yeah, Naruto-kun," she said casually, pursing her lips to hide a smile, "You might want to hurry if you want to catch them. They're probably almost done eating by now."
"Ah, y-yes!" stammered Hinata, her blush growing. She bowed slightly and excused herself.
Maybe I should change the times on this bitch's schedule… that'll teach her to mess around with my Naruto-kun…
This time, Ino could not bite back the giggle at her new, scandalous discovery.
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Now she was blushing. Really hard.
…and Katsumi looked at him with seductive eyes, moaning encouragingly when his hand reached for the straps of her dress….
Ino looked around the deserted park frantically, viciously looking for the perverted culprit who was sending over the naughty thoughts to her sweet, innocent mind.
…she guided his hand to the waistband of her lacy, red panties and dared him with a smirk to remove it…
"ARGH! STOP IT!" Ino screamed, blushing harder than ever. She formed the hand sign necessary to deactivate the jutsu and was just about to do so when a surprised voice overhead caught her attention.
"Hm? What's this? Asuma's student?"
Ino looked up and her eyes found none other than Kakashi Hatake nestled up high in the branches of a nearby tree. He was holding a bright orange book which Ino recognized at once as the bestselling smut that Naruto's perverted sannin sensei loved to write.
Furious, Ino glared up at him with all the wrath that she could muster. "You're as bad as Sakura says you are! Go find another hobby!"
The startled copy-nin blinked after the angry girl, watching with a mixture of amusement and irritation as she made a show of stomping away.
As usual, no one appreciates true art when they see it, Kakashi thought bitterly before returning to his book.
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Exhausted with running around the village and looking for people she knew, Ino sat upon a stone bench idly, wondering what to do next. She supposed that she should just go back and open the flower shop… which she should have done hours ago anyway.
Ino smiled, thinking back briefly on everything she'd learned about her friends and comrades today. Inner Hinata is evil, Neji is in love with his hair, Tenten thinks Neji would make a good girl, Lee uses a fruit bowl to cut his hair, Kakashi-sensei is still a raging pervert, Naruto is still after Sakura, and Sakura got me that beautiful purple hair clip for my birthda—
Birthday!
Ino gasped audibly as she shot up to her feet. It's Shikamaru's birthday today! How could I have forgotten? Ino, you are so stupid sometimes! she mentally berated, her feet already running towards the Nara compound.
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Shikaku Nara opened the front door lazily, fully expecting to see a paunchy brown-haired boy on the other side. He blinked, only a little bit startled when a pair of bright, blue eyes gazed up at him instead.
"Ah, Ino-chan! What a surprise to see you here… are you looking for Shikamaru, by any chance?"
Ino smiled and nodded her head. "Yup! Is he here?"
Shikaku brought up a hand to rub the side of his neck. Will it look bad if I tell her that I don't know where my own son is?… And it's supposed to be his birthday today too… Ah, mendokuse.
Ino struggled to keep her face composed as the older Nara sighed. "He left the house an hour ago. You know that boy… goes where he wants whenever he wants…"
"Ah… that's alright. I'll find him myself," she replied, bowing respectfully before stepping away.
"Stop by again sometime, Ino-chan."
She smiled. "I will. Thank you Nara-san."
With that, Ino began her search for the lazy shinobi. She began with the Barbecue, hoping that she'd find him with Choji sitting at one of the booths. When the restaurant showed negative results, Ino made her way to Choji's house only to discover that the Akimichi was busy training Clan techniques with his father.
Next she tried their training grounds. Empty. Various rooftops. Empty. The flower shop, her house, back to Choji's house, the Nara compound's backyard, back to his house, the Academy, the Hokage's building, back to his house again, the Intelligence Unit— empty, empty, empty, empty, all empty!
Empty of the one she wanted to see the most.
Grrr… that Shikamaru! Where could he be? Ino wondered, feeling slightly put-out. The sun was already gone and the day was almost spent. For the millionth time, she cursed her failure at finding the perfect gift for him and frowned. If anything, she felt that she should at least wish him a happy birthday…
Pouting once more, Ino wound her way around the forest, eager to rest her sore limbs next to her favorite oak tree in the central meadows. The stars were now completely visible in the dark sky— it looked like tonight was going to be a good night for stargazing!
Her eyes immediately spotted the humongous tree and her mood soared slightly. She was only a few feet away when she caught sight of a figure resting beneath it, almost hidden completely in the shadows—
"Shikamaru!"
The lazy genius stirred at the sound of her voice but otherwise made no other movement to get up. Huffing slightly, Ino made her way towards him and took a seat right beside him, smiling.
"Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you!" she said, poking his shoulder roughly.
Grunting, Shikamaru rolled over to face her. He yawned widely before tucking his arms behind his head. "Well, you found me."
Ino bit her lip, her face falling. She knew she was feeling way too guilty over this, but Ino couldn't help it— she'd wanted to get Shikamaru something super special. Something that would make him absolutely love her, just as she loved h—
Ino blushed and bit her lip harder, shaking her head free of the embarrassing thought. How could she possibly tell him that she didn't get him anything? He'd hate her forever!
As if sensing her sudden distress, Shikamaru sat up slowly and stretched his limbs. "What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes betraying a hint of concern.
Twisting her hands in her lap, Ino avoided his gaze and bowed her head. "Um… I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday…"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He hadn't missed the sudden change in what he'd thought had been routine between them— Ino never failed to give him something early on the day of his birthday, usually before he even got out of bed. But today she hadn't shown up with her boisterous cheer, urging him to get his ass out of bed as she usually did on this certain day… And then he'd waited for her, wondering why she wasn't coming…
"You could've done that tomorrow at our party, you know," he said slowly, trying to search her face, "That's what they're for, right?"
Ino turned her head to look at him, guilt etched on every plane of her porcelain face. Honesty, Ino decided, was the best way to go. "Yeah, but I wanted to say it on your actual birthday! But today… I… It's just that I…" she gulped painfully before continuing, "I couldn't find you a gift, Shika… I'm so sorry!"
The boy beside her sighed after a slight pause. "Is that all?" he asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. Mendokuse…
Ino looked up at him, her wide eyes still guilty. Shikamaru placed a hand on her head gently and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not angry."
Because you're here…
Ino blinked, almost jumping at the foreign thought. She'd been so wrapped up with her worry that she'd almost forgotten that she still had her mind-reading jutsu activated. Wait… That's it! Her new jutsu could tell her what Shikamaru wanted!
"Um, Shika?" began Ino, suddenly inspired by the new idea. She struggled to contain the budding glee that was washing over her. "If— If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"
Shikamaru frowned slightly at the question and offered her a half-shrug. "Hmm… I can't really think of anything…"
Except you.
Ino gaped at him, her heart beating wildly at the thought she'd just read. It felt like her world suddenly stopped turning. Did he really just think that or….?
"T-there must be something!" exclaimed Ino, her eyes wide with hope. She needed to make sure that she hadn't just been making something up from her inner fantasies.
Shikamaru, slightly startled by his blonde friend's sudden excitement, narrowed his eyes calculatingly. "No…" he said with a halting pause, his dark brown gaze penetrating, "there's nothing…"
Just you… mendokuse…
There was no mistaking it this time. Ino drew away and turned her head to the side, regrouping the sudden tumult of emotions that were currently cascading out of her and threatening to burst her heart at any minute.
Coughing slightly to hide the humongous happiness she was feeling, Ino glanced back at Shikamaru to find him watching her closely.
"Um, I'm sorry I couldn't find you a birthday gift Shika…" she began slyly, slowly gathering up her bottomless amount of inner courage and confidence. "But I think I know how to make it up to you…"
"Oh?" Shikamaru exclaimed, smirking slightly. He titled his head towards her, his gaze still penetrating. "How?"
With the air of a bold girl used to having her way, Ino leaned forward and pushed her lips against his. She felt Shikamaru tense for a short second before his arms shot out and wrapped her body taut against his own. He responded to her kiss with much gusto, and Ino shivered when she felt his tongue brush against her lower lip, successfully forcing her mouth open and darting quickly inside to taste her.
They engaged in a passionate lip-lock, their tongues warring for dominance until they could no longer ignore the nagging need for oxygen.
Ino pulled away first, breathing heavily. She gasped as Shikamaru moved his lips to trace her jawline, then moaned as he planted hot open-mouthed kisses down her neck. Somehow, during the kiss, she'd unknowingly moved from the ground beside Shikamaru and into his lap. Boldly, she moved to straddle his hips and his grip on her waist tightened.
"W-would that work?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes gleaming as she pressed her forehead against his. "In place of a birthday present, I mean…?"
Shikamaru smirked at her but said nothing.
I know something that would be even better...
All of a sudden, graphic images of her in his bed filtered through her head and Ino gasped, blushing furiously. She opened her mouth to speak, but was effectively silenced when his lips met hers. She moaned, losing herself in the passion of the moment, her hands coming around Shikamaru's neck. She was ready to engage herself in another tongue war when the graphic images returned, invading her mind once more.
She pulled away roughly, blushing a deep crimson, only to find Shikamaru still smirking at her.
"What's so funny?" she demanded, embarrassed beyond belief as the images took a turn for the worse.
Shikamaru only laughed, his hands coming around to hug her to him. "Maybe you should deactivate that jutsu now."
Ino's mouth fell open. She struggled against his grip until Shikamaru finally let her go, albeit reluctantly. "How did you know?" she asked, feeling baffled and irritated at the same time.
The genius shrugged lazily and sighed. "Apparently your dad told my dad that he was planning on teaching you that jutsu for your birthday. This morning my old man warned me about it, said to look for signs, just in case."
Ino pouted and crossed her arms. "You were just toying with me!" she accused angrily, getting ready to pull away.
His hands caught her by the wrists and he tugged her effortlessly back against his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around her petite frame.
Don't go.
She melted into him against her will, and Shikamaru buried his face deep into her hair. "I wasn't toying with you, Ino," he said softly, his tone was the gentlest Ino had ever heard it. "I wasn't even sure if you'd learned the jutsu already… at least, not until you kissed me. But I did have a suspicion."
For the longest time… I've been wanting to tell you how much I love you… For the longest time… Even now, I can't say it…
Ino softened as she raised her head to meet his gaze, brimming with unspeakable emotion. She smiled sweetly and cupped his face as she brought his lips down to hers in response to his confession.
"Oh, Shika, I love you too," Ino whispered shyly when she pulled away, "for some time now…"
Shikamaru grinned down at her, and the genuine happiness on his face was enough to make her heart break. Ino straddled him a little closer, the heat radiating off of their bodies enough to keep her warm from the cold night air.
"Oi, Ino?"
"Yeah?"
Shikamaru hugged her tightly and pressed his lips upon her forehead. "It's midnight. Happy birthday."
Ino smiled, her heart fluttering as she hugged back her best-friend-turned-boyfriend. "Thank you," she replied warmly. Her gaze met his smoldering brown eyes and—
"Shikaaa!" Ino whimpered in embarrassment, burying her red face into his shoulder. "Stop it!"
The lazy genius only laughed. His large hands slid down her waist to grip her thighs. "I can't stop my thoughts, Ino," he whispered huskily into her ear, rubbing his hands up and down her legs and causing the blonde to shiver.
"Fine! I'll deactivate the stupid jutsu!" Ino snapped, still blushing. She formed the hand sign and muttered, "Release!"
It felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Wow, thought Ino, blinking in surprise, I didn't even realize how much chakra I've been draining using that technique.
"Better?"
Ino turned to find Shikamaru watching her with a soft look in his eyes. She grinned up at him as he pulled her in for another kiss.
"Much better."
And sitting underneath the twinkling stars, wrapped up in each other's loving arms, the newly formed couple couldn't help but think that they must have been really good this year. After all, they were lucky enough to receive the best birthday gift ever— each other.
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The End.
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... Oh God, I'm turning into a giant cornball. :c