Sand in the Pants


"He should have had plenty of time to rest," Ino thought to herself walking down the street towards Shikamaru's home. Trust him to have a mission when she was on the verge of perfecting a new technique. But she had waited patiently, well as patiently as she was capable, for him to return. She'd even gave him until the next morning before she started off to pester him. As she reached the house, she noticed that the door to the residence had be left partially open. She was about to enter until she heard the voices of Chouji and Shikamaru whispering from inside. Instead she leaned against the outside wall, pressing her body against the structure as she listened.

"Thats the sixth time you've scratched yourself since I got here." Chouji commented. "Its like you have a rash down there or something."

"It just won't stop . . ." Shikamaru replied, sounding distraught.

"How did you manage to get one of those down there?"

Shikamaru's voice dropped to a soft mumbling whisper.

"With Temari? That Sand Jounin? I always thought she was into girls . . ." Chouji trailed off, probably with a large smile on his pudgy face. "When did you have time for that?"

Another set of mumblings ushered from Shikamaru's mouth.

Chouji laughed. "How did it happen? I mean you're not exactly a lady's man Shikamaru."

"It just did, we were eating a nice dinner together being friendly. We were talking about specific tactics and advanced strategies. Then she started making cryptic insinuations, and how she thought geniuses were attractive."

"It doesn't seem like you though," he sounded a bit sad.

"I'm not impervious to women you know. Its just takes too much effort for a relationship. I thought being with Temari would be perfect, She lives so far away we'd only see each other every once in a while."

"She would be the only one that would find your genius sexy."

"Apparently I'm not the only one she finds desirable or I wouldn't be itching like Kiba before a flea dip."

As Chouji's hearty laughter filled the house, Ino crossed her arms. Her anger smoldered. It didn't take more then an educated guess to figure out what had happened. It served him right that being with another woman had consequences. Poetic justice.

Jealous much? The thought streamed across her mind. She'd admitted to herself a long time ago that she had deeply cared for her teammate more then was simply platonic. It was different from her superficial infatuation with Sasuke. Sasuke was the type a girl like herself was suppose to be attracted to. There was no amount of quality stretching one could do to liken Sasuke to Shikamaru. They were simply two very different types of human beings. So when she had started to find Shikamaru's qualities more and more attractive, it had been little surprise her affection for him soon out shown her girlish obsession with the Uchiha boy.

Sasuke rejecting her had been expected, he rejected every advance. It wasn't that big of a deal, she'd never even put her whole heart in perusing Sasuke. When he disappeared, she was sad; but had been much more grateful that Shikamaru and Chouji had come home alive. Ino wasn't stupid, she 'd known what that meant. And she had been certain that Shikamaru had too.

She'd been so sure that when she woke from her mind-walking jutsu that his eyes were telling her what he felt deep inside. She'd believed it to be a silent, unspoken love between them both. Apparently she'd been very wrong.

Shikamaru to blatantly prefer and then sleep with another woman made her ache inside. Maybe she should have said something. Suddenly she wished that she'd been as bold as Temari, or as clever in her pursuit of Shikamaru. What did Temari have that made Ino inferior?

Legs that spread without effort apparently. she thought to herself, as she heard footfall heading towards her and the partially opened door.

It wasn't until Shikamaru and Chouji moved out of the residence that the former detected Ino. He threw a casual glance over his shoulder. His expression darkened, a hint of a red on his cheeks. She grinned wickedly at his discomfort. He'd just realized she heard everything.

"What are you doing eavesdropping on us like that? You should should try to keep-" he was going to say keep out of other people's business, but the words caught in his throat; mostly due to Ino's obvious hurt and fury.

"Maybe on your next mission you should try to keep Sand out of your pants." She glared at Shikamaru, her fists white knuckled with anger. "Everyone knows it makes you itch when it gets in there." She turned abruptly, and shot off one more snide comment at Shikamaru before storming down the street. "Next time it might fall off."

He watched her back until her blonde tail of hair faded from sight as she rapidly turned a corner. He then turned his head to Chouji, "I'll never understand that complicated woman." Chouji just shook his head, knowing that his genius only extended so far.

"Nah, Ino is a lot simpler then you think. Its you that just made things complicated . . ."


Goomba Note: I just came up with an awesome storyline for this drabble, so it can become a real story! I plan on updating this week with the next chapter. I promise, even though it seems like Temari-bashing, it won't pan out that way. Now its just a lovely little plot device!