He thought he heard her laughter; a soft snicker of a childlike girl she kept inside her soul, as she gently held it with her fingers, running gracious touches down its structure - a figure shattered by shadows.
She stood with her back to him; lost in her world, way beyond his reach. And somehow, he wished he never needed to reach out to her...
...because, to him, she was magic.
And it played...
Gently aching - a tone born from a bow that barely touches its awaiting friend, its string. Yet it echoes in a cacophony of pain, higher and higher, right until it makes him bleed...then vanishes, right before he moans.
Sometimes he hears it low, like a silent sway of leaves in their song to the wind - and sometimes it fills him with its warmth, like her body did in the coldest of nights when blanket between them was not enough.
He hears it like a call of a long-lost lover, broken in its sorrow. He hears it like the cry of her heart, call of her love, her longing to be loved. He hears it...
...and then it ends.
Yamanaka Ino lowers her hands, shifting the wolf-like gaze onto his reflection in the mirror, drinking him in.
He is to clap his hands, and then she shakes her head in a silent no, before she leaves the wooden instrument on the table and slightly turns her head revealing her profile; smile that lingered on her lips.
Such a tragic sight to his eyes.
"Shikamaru"she spoke, her voice merely a sweet whisper of a little girl. "He didn't come today." She laughed, innocent as she had been. Her fingers traced the contours of her face only to freeze in the level of her lips - she slowly bit her little finger, playing with him. "I guess he won't come. Ever."
Man in the mirror moved - between her shallow breaths, he crossed the room, breathing in her scent.
Blue eyes locked with the deer's brown.
He was injured. Injured man who bled...love.
Velvety fingers came to touch her arm - woman cried like a child in love. He studied her whilst his fingers traveled higher and higher up, gentle...gentler. They convoluted themselves around the strap of her shirt, caressing her shoulder. She closed her eyes, subdued to his touch.
Shikamaru cried.
"Ino"he murmured her name, brushing his cheek against her hair. Scent of sunflowers invaded his head. "He'll never come...He'll never come back." His voice cracked as he forced himself to utter those words - feeling her shift, nervous in her anger.
"But..why? How?"she whined, diamonds in her eyes. "Why, Shika? He said...he said he'd come, didn't he?"
"Yes"Shikamaru breathed against her skin. "He said..."
"Shikaku-san said so too? Nee?" Eighteen-year old man flinched as she poked his belly - and again, he swallowed his tears...and hopes he carried within. Just another day...
Suddenly, he was surprised when thousand lights flashed in the sky - a perfect river of colors, melting as they touched the clouds.
He turned his head towards the excited-looking woman who gasped with every flash of the distant lights, and smiled. Smiled because she was here...smiled because maybe this was the best way, as they always said: 'the way it had to be'. Perhaps it felt less painful to the real Ino, hidden, temporarily lost in her mind.
Ino...who lost her sense of life.
Shikamaru laces his fingers with hers, and Ino is puzzled for a second, before he pulls her into him and locks their lips together.
It had been seconds, perhaps minutes, before he let her go, hearing her giggle yet again. Sweetest redness painted her face.
"Shika..."she laughed, dreamily. "What was that...?"
"Nothing"he says whilst he pats her silly head. "Happy New Year, Ino."
AN: Well...I was listening to Barcelona's song Get Up and this is what came out of it. I thought I'd share it with you guys :) Enjoy and please, feel free to leave your reviews, your sincere thoughts about this :)
Oh, in case some of you are wondering what is the instrument Ino plays at the beginning - it is violin :)
My best wishes to you all.
Love, Lullaby of Hearts.