Author's Note: Hello and happy summer, everyone! It's been awhile since I've written anything, so this might be a bit rusty. I've read through this a couple of times but sometimes, it's still not enough. So, please skip over anything you find grammatically challenged! And I apologize in advance if the characters seem a bit OCC. This story will mainly focus on Ino's feeling for Shikamaru. Please enjoy and reviews will be appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or the characters.
Attention
© Aki-Child
Everyone was staring at her, and she wasn't surprised. It wasn't because she was arrogant; she would stare at herself too if she were the people walking by. And this was exactly what she wanted – everyone's attention. Yes, everyone's. Among the crowd she walked by, quiet whispers were shared between the people. She tucked her bangs behind her right ear – it was a habit of hers whenever she felt uneasy – but to realize her bangs had fallen back to its original place because of its new-attained weight.
"Ino," she heard her best friend's voice, and on cue, she turned to the pink haired kunoichi.
It seemed like her friend here was also like the others, staring at her in disbelief. Her emerald colored eyes were wide opened, and her jaws were dropped. Although it came out in a whisper, Ino didn't miss the 'oh my god' that escaped Sakura's lips. "It really is you. W-what happened?"
"Well–" Just when Ino was about to state the obvious, her reflection on the sliding glass door, which Sakura stood next to, caught her attention. Subconsciously, Ino brushed her fingers through her blonde locks. Normally, it would take her forever to reach the tip of her long, high ponytail. But this time, the contact was quick and short – and not to mention she didn't have a ponytail to begin with this time.
"I cut my hair," she smiled weakly, "that's what happened."
"Are you sure about this?" the hairdresser had asked Ino for the tenth time since she stepped into the salon.
Without averting her gaze elsewhere, Ino nodded, staring at her own reflection, "yes, I am sure."
As much as she wanted to sound confident like her usual self, her voice betrayed her. Instead of coming out strong and certain, it was unsteady – well, a little bit – as if she didn't mean what she said. But it was understandable, right? She was about to cut the beautiful hair she had grown, nourished, and taken care of for so many years. Ino couldn't recall a time when she had cut her hair for more than an inch. 'Except for that time at the chunin exam,' she thought bitterly.
"Alright, if you're not changing your mind, let us begin."
She took a deep breath and looked at the hairdresser, "please."
She felt the hairdresser running his fingers through her hair, and she knew she would miss this sensation. Maybe she would miss everything about being a proud owner of her long blonde locks – she could style her hair in any way she liked: worn wavy, straight, up or down, anything! But she wasn't about to back down now. Not when she had finally talked herself into cutting it.
For the next fifty minutes or so, Ino could hear nothing but the ripping sound the scissors made when gliding through her locks. Never for a second had her eyes diverted from her own reflection in the mirror, and never for a second had she felt regretted from making this decision.
Time had passed by faster than she had expected. Swiftly, the hairdresser blew her hair dried and discarded the cape. Holding an oval mirror behind her, Ino could see the back of her head clearly. Her ponytail was no longer in sight, which gave Ino a brand new feeling. Her neck felt… chilly even from the slightest movement. It had been a while since she'd had short hair – maybe since when she was a kid? She couldn't remember.
Ino leaned in closer to the mirror and examined herself. She would no longer be regarded as the blonde hair kunoichi with a high ponytail, but the stylish, trendy kunoichi with a bob hairstyle. Of course, it wasn't like Lee's bob hairstyle; hers looked more feminine and classy. Her hair was styled asymmetrically with the right side being half an inch longer than the left, with her bangs still parted to the right. It wasn't like Sakura's hair style either. Hers was a little bit shorter, just barely framing her chin.
"It's beautiful…" she commented.
"Yes, and so are you," he assured.
Feeling half nervous and half excited, Ino was ready to show her new look to the world.
"Naruto!" Sakura's voice snapped Ino back to the present.
Almost immediately, Ino jumped at the sight of Naruto. She must've been too consumed in her memories of this morning to notice Naruto standing inches away from her, and staring at her in awe. She saw his expression and recognized it. Everyone had been giving her the very expression ever since she stepped out of the salon. How could she not recognize that this face meant surprise?
"You cut your hair…" the blonde hair boy stated the obvious.
In return, Ino smiled, "yes, I did."
He leaned in closer, still inspecting her as if… as if she were an insect. She understood the intention behind his action. She would be shocked too, if Tenten or Neji decided to cut their hair short. She would be staring at them too, with the same look Naruto was giving her now. But… he was too close! If he were to get any closer, Ino would definitely–
"Stop staring at her face like that!" Out of annoyance, Sakura flew Naruto a punch on the face, which sent him flying ten metres, radius, away from where they were standing.
–Yeah, send him flying… like that.
"I'm sorry, Ino." Her best friend apologized on behalf of her teammate.
"Thanks, Sakura."
The two friends walked down the street together. Half of the time, they were discussing their upcoming missions and talking about the latest gossips. As for the other half, they let silence fell between them because Sakura wasn't sure whether it was appropriate to ask Ino about her decision, and Ino wasn't sure how to start.
"Oi, Ino!"
The girls turned to the owner of the voice and greeted simultaneously, "Kiba!"
His face displayed the same stunned expression as well, "Naruto told me about your new look…" he eyed her from head to toe, "… you look gorgeous!"
"It suits you, Ino-chan," Hinata complimented bashfully.
"Thank you," Ino knew they weren't lying.
Throughout their walk to their destination, they'd encountered a lot of people: Neji, Tenten, Choji, Iruka-sensei, and the list went on. Most of them had taken the effort to drag their feet in front of Ino to talk, question, and comment on her new hairstyle, whether they were ninjas she had worked together with, or regular restaurant owners. Of course, most people praised her for her good looks and courage. Even Sai looked too stunned for words, okay? That proved how beautiful everyone thought she was.
But for some reason, her heart was still beating rapidly from nervousness and anticipation... But of what?
"You don't look too happy," Sakura said, "you don't like it?"
Ino shook her head, "I love it."
"I like it too," the pink haired kunoichi reassured, "it looks good on you!"
"Do you really think so?"
"Yeah!" She finally asked, "But why? All of a sudden…"
"Well…" Ino didn't want to spill the truth, but she didn't want to lie to her best friend either, "I-I am an attention seeker, after all."
"Ah ha!" Sakura exclaimed knowingly, as if the confusion had been cleared up, "you have always been the centre of attention, Ino. You've got to be kidding me!"
"I am tired of my same old appearance."
Walking shoulder to shoulder, they headed into the Hokage building, greeting everyone who walked past them, and of course, for Ino, getting praised by those people at the same time. Sakura chuckled and shook her head lightly, thinking that Ino must be feeling contented to have gotten everyone's attention. But, Sakura didn't understand.
She didn't understand at all.
"Oi, Sakura," a familiar voice rang into Ino's ears.
She looked up immediately, and saw… him.
"Hey, Shikamaru," her friend walked up to the tall shinobi indifferently, "Tsunade-sama gave you a new assignment already?"
Looking troubled, Shikamaru just nodded. "Yeah, troublesome," Without saying another word, he walked past the medical ninja and in the direction of the blonde hair kunoichi, who remained frozen at her current spot. Her heart was beating a mile per second.
"Hey, Ino," he greeted without looking and walked past her casually, like he normally would.
But this time, he didn't just walk away.
He turned back to her.
Shikamaru, looking as surprised as ever, stuttered, "Y-you cut your hair..."
"Y-yeah…" Ino didn't dare to meet his eyes.
What if he didn't perceive her new image as beautiful, like the others did? What if he secretly hated girls with short hair? What if… everything she did was for nothing?
"...It looks great on you," he finally commented.
Biting back the urge to burst into tears of joy, she looked at him and into the pair of brown orbs she'd known since childhood, into the pair of brown orbs her heart would respond rapidly to, and into the pair of brown orbs she'd fallen in love with. Her anxiety seemed to have disappeared upon hearing his words.
His words worked like magic.
Since this morning, Ino did everything she could just to make herself beautiful. She made a fuss over choosing which hair style would look best on her; she walked all around town hoping to run into him; she went through all the trouble of cutting her beautiful hair just to grab his attention. Yes, it was his and only his attention and feedback she sought for.
For the first time after getting her hair cut, Ino grinned genuinely, "Thank you, Shikamaru."
A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! Any feedback will be appreciated.
