- Okay. So far, so good.
- I know it's okay, could we just proceed?
- Just calm down.
- I AM calm. Very calm.
- Yeah sure…
- Shut up. Just tell me what I'm supposed to do now.
Shikamaru snorted "Troublesome woman…" and threw his cigarette out of the passenger's window. He turned back to her, who was staring at him, waiting for directions.
- Just release the brake. Delicately, eh.
- What are you hinting at?
Ino turned to him, enraged.
- Well…for example, I'm hinting at the last time you got at the wheel; you smashed my bumper.
- That wasn't my fault! Maybe you should have taught me the use of gears, before you let me turn on!
- What the hell are you talking about? Can't you see the difference between first gear and reverse?
Surprisingly enough, she didn't reply. Bothered, inflating her cheeks, she turned away, to the windscreen. Again, Shikamaru sighed.
"Worse than troublesome…"
Ino drummed on the steering wheel, both impatient and nervous. She blew the long tuft of blonde hair, the one that always fell down on her face, away from her eyes; trying hard not to peek with the corner of her eye at the boy sitting next to her. She knew him all too well; either he was staring at the clouds out of his window, or maybe at her, a triumphant smirk plastered all over his face.
Damn. Foolish bastard. Damn genius.
Fuck, I'll show you.
She suddenly let go of the brake, treading on the gas and shooting Shikamaru and herself forward. If Ino hadn't her seatbelt fastened, her teeth would have had a close encounter with the steering wheel. On the other hand, Shikamaru wasn't wearing any seatbelt, and he fully knocked his head on the dashboard.
As soon as, after a few jolts, the car stopped, the boy mumbled all the words he could possibly match with "Bloody…"
Ino rouse herself from the chest shock.
- Shika…Shikamaru?
As a reply, a sort of grunt. Shikamaru was bending over, head in his hands.
- Shikamaru…you alright? – she put a hand on his shoulder, noticing some blood dripping between his fingers.
- Oh God…Shikamaru…wait – She turned back, towards the backseat; rummaging in her bag, she dredged up a tissue.
- Shikamaru, let me see…
- Please, Ino…
- Come on, Shikamaru, let me…
- Ino, I can do it myself.
- But Shikam…
- Fuck, Ino, stop it!
The boy's tone of voice froze her. In normal conditions, she'd have just beaten him all the way. That certainly wasn't the way he could address himself to his teammate. And certainly she had never let a man push her around; let alone, a man like Shikamaru. Impossible.
And yet, this time she stood still, holding the tissue so tight in her hands that her knuckles began to turn white.
Shikamaru's rage explosion was still floating between them, like a threatening shroud; for the first time, after those seven years she'd been knowing him, Ino felt the edge of her eyes tingling.
Brusquely, she turned around, facing her window. That idiot could get away with getting smart at her, but it was inadmissible that he saw her cry.
It was absurd. The hell! Why did she get that offended? It wasn't the first time someone addressed to her in such terms. Sakura did that all the time. Even Ino's father did, sometimes.
Ino herself wasn't an example of refinement.
Maybe she knew why those four words had affected her that much. It had something to do with the reason why she asked Sakura to train her as a medic nin.
Sense of uselessness.
Ino wasn't the kind of girl that enjoyed asking herself questions about the meaning of life, about what could be "her" place in the world. She was serene, almost happy, maybe; her life was okay to her.
She liked her family, all things considered. She got along well with her team. She had a certain number of guys who fancied her. She felt good with herself.
Then why did Shikamaru always manage to target what bothered her the most?
What was that? Did he suddenly become an expert of empathy, beside shogi and go?
She didn't manage to go on asking those question to herself.
Shikamaru's hand laid on her wrist, the one that was still convulsively holding the tissue. Feeling that contact, Ino's grip loosen up, and Shikamaru let his hand slip into his friend's hand.
- Listen, Ino…
- No. Don't say a thing.
Shikamaru stayed silent.
Slowly, Ino turned back towards him, repeatedly flapping her eyelids to try and pull herself together.
Somewhere, inside her, every glance Shikamaru cast was able to shake her, as if he could touch some key in her head; keys she didn't even know about.
Oh well, she liked him, sure as hell.
But she couldn't let him torment her, shake her, while still keeping that sly and lazy expression on his face. Because she knew that, deep inside, that glance of his hided a sense of triumph.
Because, in Shikamaru's eyes, Ino was almost transparent.
Not in an "invisible" way, sure. But he thought he knew everything about her. He thought he recognised an open book, whenever he talked to her, whenever he looked at her.
With her eyes still watery, Ino showed a slight smirk.
- I'm not as obvious as you think, Shikamaru Nara…
Shikamaru opened his eyes wide, in astonishment.
- What?
Ino's smirk widened further. She rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands, and she opened the door of Shikamaru's car.
All of this while Shikamaru was still staring at her with a questioning face.
- Come on, baka! Wake up, it's late! You have to drive me home, remember?
Still caught unaware, Shikamaru shifted to the driver's seat.
"What's on that woman's mind?"
Ino spread on the passenger's seat, stealing a glance at the shadow genius.
"You think you know Ino Yamanaka? Just wait and see…"
NOTES: Ok, this is the first chapter of my ShikaIno fanfiction; English is not my first language, indeed this whole FF is a translation from Italian...so don't kill me if I made/make/will make some mistakes ^^
"Blondes are troublesome" is dedicated to my dear Kumo-sensei, for introducing me to every wonderful thing (amv/doujinshi/fanart/fanfiction) that can be related to the ShikaIno world. We're white flies, and proud of it : P