She watched him leave as her lip quivered. She couldn't believe how unexpectedly and suddenly he had returned, and now he was leaving in the same unexpected and sudden way.
The door closed and she took a step towards it, then stopped. What right did she have to follow him after she betrayed him? She went to the door and pressed her ear against it, listening for his footsteps getting further away from the door but she heard nothing, so for a moment her heart leapt.
She flung the door open and he was still there, and she jumped into his arms. They kissed.
Her eyes opened for an instant and she saw the ring on her finger, and immediately pulled away from him.
"Shikamaru!" she screamed. "How dare you! How could you do this to me?"
He didn't reply.
"I was happy!" she raged as she punched him in the chest, though he less than flinched. "I was going to be happy! I was going to get married in a month and then have children in a few years, grow old and die someday! But I'd be happy. Your face would cross my mind a few times a day, but I would have been happy. Now that you're back I'll never be able to stop thinking about you and the life we could have had. I'll never be happy now."
"I'm sorry, Ino." Shikamaru said.
"Why would you do this to me?" she demanded as she punched him again, but he just put his arms around her and pulled her close. She erupted into uncontrollable tears and sobs, wailing on the front door step pathetically as she hung in his embrace.
"I'm sorry." He repeated.
"We all knew you were dead." She whispered, gaining control, but not letting go of him. "All those years ago. I had to move on."
"I know." Shikamaru said.
"You must hate me." Ino shook her head. "You must hate me."
"I don't hate you." Shikamaru said. "I love you."
Ino burned up inside and pushed him away. "I hate you!" she yelled as loudly as she could. "Why did you have to come back? I could have been happy!"
"Ino, it's not anyone's fault." Shikamaru said. "No one except damned Orochimaru. But that's all over now. I'm back and as you can see, I'm not dead." He tried to laugh but he choked on his laughter. "And…I know it's asking a lot… but we could go back to the way we were—"
"Why did you have to go on that mission?" she wailed.
"I lost the ring." He said, grabbing her hands. "They took it like they took everything else." He lifted her hand up and looked at her fingers, stripped bare except for her engagement ring. "This one is beautiful."
"I put the one you gave me away." Ino said, pulling her hands away from him and stepping backwards. "I couldn't wear it anymore. I had to move on."
"And you have moved on." Shikamaru reminded her.
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed again. Shikamaru only watched her with helpless eyes, standing a foot away from her, but it felt like miles.
"What do I do now?" she cried.
"You love him, don't you?" Shikamaru said. She nodded. "You've already promised yourself to him."
"But…" Ino stuttered. "I promised myself to you too…"
Shikamaru hesitated.
"Why did you have to come back?" she whispered.