Things changed...literally
 Uchihas1010hyuuga

Pairings: InoxShika; Naruxhina; Nejixten; Sasusaku

Summary: Ino had made a mistake that gives her a future with no happily ever after. Can she live with her future life or will she make a change in her past? R&R!

Prologue

"Ino dear, we have a celebratory dinner with the Nara and Akimichi family, don't forget," a tall woman with bleach blonde hair in a tall pony tail reminded her ever cunning beautiful daughter who now laid on her queen-sized bed doing nothing but sleeping with a magazine covering her face.

"Yes mother," Ino said stressing her voice a little.

"Why don't you go shopping for a new dress to wear tonight? And get fresh air to loosen the stress you're having now," her mother said, sweet as ever.

"Thank you," her voice hinted anger as well. She frustratingly jumped out of her queen-sized bed with floral bed sheets. And lacy curtains hung down, the tip with various designs of snow flakes. Her room was decorated with tapestries with anything that has to do with nature woven on it. She has snowflakes made of glass hung down by her humongous window with white roses giving it a frame, and two cacti in their pot by each end of the window.

"Ino, you really got to remove those cacti or place a table under them, Sugar just can't keep herself away from it," her mother warned for the last 5000th time, gesturing to the white angora cat whose paws just kept poking at the spikes of the cacti plant. With that the mother carefully closed the door, leaving space for her daughter to get dress to go shopping.

"Sugar, please get away from the cacti," Ino said in a moan-like voice as she stomped to her window to fetch her white angora cat and clasp it in her arms. The feline purred sweetly as she rested her eyes as her owner pet her with tender touches.

She furrowed her eyebrows deeper as she recalls what she's seen some other days before, but couldn't get the image out of her head. The image consisted of a black head boy with pineapple-like ponytail macking with a blonde with 4 spiky pig tails. The scene was unbearably frustrating for our Ino. God knows why she still plays it back in her head. "I wonder what this dinner is about this time,"

She let go of her Turkish angora, which roamed on her bed and curled up in a ball and watched her mistress browse her closet which is almost the size of her own bedroom. "I guess I'll just wear this," Ino said pointedly at the dress she was holding, she scanned it from top to bottom, wanting it to be perfect. The dress consisted of a metallic coloured spaghetti strap with matching chiffon flower bed on the chest area, and a neon coloured furry belt engulfing about the waist. The dress was plain shiny dark purple. The skirt was designed like petals which didn't go bouncy but flat and cascaded down empire-style. "I'm going to look like a...total flower maiden,"

She rushed to the deeper part of her closet to find matching shoes for her chosen dress. She found the perfect shoes for her perfect dress; pee-toe platform stilettos with a snake-like skin coloured lavender with vines printed on the far edges.

"I guess this will do..." she sighed, took the shoes out of the closet and laid them by the bed, with the dress on the bed, of course. "Shall I wear gloves? Hmm, that'll be too much, I really need to lower my stress, shopping always does, but I'm not in the mood," then without warning she pushes herself down on the bed which landed on her back purposely , scaring the sleeping cat of hers which jumped. "Sorry Sugar," she said apologetically. "Why is that Nara bothering my head for?!" with that she turned sideways and kicked at nothing but open air.

Then the door flung open, revealing the Yamanaka mother, "Ino, I thought you were planning on going shopping,"

"Sorry mom, change of plans, I've already picked a dress, evidently, which is lying on my bed with matching shoes," she replied dryly, with her eyes closed, trying to get the images of the macking scene out of her face.

"Okay then, you still have 1 and a half hour left, I'll ask the maids to prepare a bubble bath for you. Lavendar or rose?"

"Uh, rose," she replied randomly, reaching for a sleeping mask, muttering as she puts it on. "Maybe this will be more of assistance in deleting unwanted images,"

"Ino, have you picked the jewelleries you're going to wear? Come on darling, you have to be my perfect daughter, don't waist time," she clapped her hand, demanding Ino to get up and prepare. The girl, tired of the noise her mother was making, strained herself to get up and remove the sleeping mask. "And forget the rings,"

"I'm up, mom, now I'll go get ready,"

"I don't want to keep the guests waiting for you, Ino," with that the mother left again, the maids came in and entered the bathroom to prepare her bath for her.

She took off her baby pink night gown which goes down to her knees she was wearing and her caramel coloured pj pants went off too and she shrugged into her lavender bathrobe and waited patiently on her bed, leg crossed, arms folded as she contemplated on her mind issues. She tapped her foot as she waited, instantaneously. Then the maids came out of the bathroom, finally.

"You may leave now," she gestured them to her door and she herself stepped into her luxurious bathroom and stared at her reflection on the mirror for a certain amount of time. "I demand myself to get the image out of my head," she said in a demanding voice and a smile graced her lips, meaning she's forgotten Nara and his girl, for the time being.

After her pleasurable bubble bath, she sat on her dressing table, apply thin make up on her already-perfect face, added sparkly rainbow coloured eye blush on her eye lids and coloured her eye lashes light purple, added a light blush on her rosy cheeks and the final touch for the face; the lip gloss which consisted a peach flavoured shiny glamorous lip gloss. Then she pursed her lips for 5 seconds, wanting the gloss to spread across her lips.

She let loose of her hair which was dried awhile ago by her ever-loyal maids. She carefully brushed them thoroughly, tied half her hair in a knot, letting the rest cascade down her back. She added a Fleur-De-Lys Snowflake hair pin and decorated her wrist in a bracelet made of real gold with diamonds as charms, for some reason she wasn't allowed to wear any rings tonight, weird. And on her neck hung a necklace, designed in vineries with tiny flowers hanging down scarcely.

She smiled at her reflection and wore on the dress and shoes she had chosen earlier, "I am perfection, the prettiest. Temari is nothing compare to me, yes," she repeated for several times to build up her confidence. "What's Temari has to do now? I thought I told myself to forget about it! Sheesh! Great!"

The door crept open and head poked out, appeared to be one of her ladies, "Miss Ino, the guests have arrived,"

"I'll join them in a few, take Sugar and groom her, do her nails and etc," Ino ordered in a primly fashion. The maid opened the door wider, and gets the cat and left. Ino glanced at her reflection, only to find she's not wearing earrings. She quickly dashed to the dressing table and opened her jewellery box and rummaged for a matching pair of earrings.

But to her surprise, she got herself not just a matching pair but also a striking pair of earrings which will stun anyone after taking a look at it. She quickly put the snowflakes earrings on and left room.

She emerged the dining hall, with scarce population in it. 3 members from the Nara, 3 members from the Akimichi and 3 members from her own family.

"There she is!" Inoichi raised his martini glass in the air pointedly at Ino, his dashing daughter. Ino made a little small wave with her hands and graced a beatific smile, but soon curved downwards into a frown at the sight of the young Nara boy, or man is it. His attention locked on hers, she diverted her face away from him, after riveting his gaze on her she just turns away?!

Ino seated herself on her usual seat, beside her mother, of course. "Darling, change of plans, go sit beside Shikamaru,"

"What? This is my seat, why sit beside him? No offense,"

"None taken," he casually replied, gazing at her profile. At least she's not that cruel to not spare him a quarter of her beauty.

"Honey, just,"

"Fine," she groaned, stomped her feet on the marble floor giving a cloud clang, eventually from her heels, and grumpily sat beside the Nara boy.

"You're looking all flowery tonight," he teased, ignoring the fact that she's fuming to give up her throne.

Inoichi tinkled his glass with his dessert spoon, demanding attention to him. "As we all know, this dinner is for the unison of our 2 clans, Nara and Yamanaka, and Akimichi is here as witness,"

"What? Do you know anything about this?" Ino whispered to the man beside her, interrogatively.

A yawned responded to her in stead of an answer with words.

"Mikoto," Shikamaru's father called his wife, as if signalling to do something, which she immediately responded to. "Of course," and removed her family heirloom ring which is the most stunning ring you can see in a life time! "Give it to the girl," his father said, in a flat tone plus pretentious anxiety.

"Me? Why? It's the Nara's," then her sea blue eyes widened, the brows lifted in a question. "Is that why you didn't ask me to wear a ring or two tonight?" then she scoffed, finally knowing the answer to everything for tonight. "This celebratory dinner... it's to announce my arranged marriage, when did this started?" Who knew monarchy still existed?

"Ino, darling, remain...calm, don't let your anger get the best of you," her mother tried to talk some sense into her, which didn't work since she abruptly stood up. "Well, I would have agreed if it wasn't for something I witness a few days earlier... but sorry to announce it to...everyone that Shikamaru already has a girlfriend," she was interrupted by Shikamaru's father, who totally spaced out about Ino's speech. "You do?"

"Um, that is all just a mis-,"

"Do not try to deny, I saw the two of you kissing," her widened endless blue eyes sharpened itself into a glare which could really frighten someone. The old saying, if looks could kill he'd be dead now. And that's exactly the look she's giving him. Following the glare came the simultaneous gasps from all three family, of course Chouji and his father, Chouza were late due to the food stuffed in their mouths. "I'm sorry to say this, but I think the Nara will have a daughter-in-law from Sunakagure," more gasps came, this time even louder. "May I be dismissed?" tears glowed in her eyes, which she demanded herself not to fall. "Sorry Mrs. Nara, it's not that I don't like your ring, it's just...I'm not the rightful owner," with that the sobbing girl retreated to her room, without waiting for an answer from her father. She knew he'd let her go even if she didn't ask. Well, you have to make a decent impression in front of the elders.

When she finally arrived in her room, she slammed the door shut, locked the door and jumped on the bed which gives a little bounce back due to the force she used. Tears cascaded down her eyes freely since she's no longer holding them back. Due to the flow of the tears, her make up wiped out, not that it's obvious since she wore it thinly. And her mascara are not be worried since she used waterproof but the eye blush fainted and spread across the eye level after rubbings to the eyes.

She sat up from her dramatic crying pose, took her shoes off and threw them away at random places, she removed the hair pin, letting loose of her bleach blonde hair which soared in the air before landing back on her spine. She ran into her bathroom, and quickly washed away the make up irritatingly. She sniffed as water splashed on her face; this is not an act since it actually contains boogie too. She sniffled in a tissue paper she swiped after thoroughly cleaning the water out of face, of course.

She pressed a number on the phone, and a maid answered it. "I need cucumbers," she said, trying to hide her croaky voice. "Peel them thinly, please," she put an effort in holding the last sniff while on touch. After getting what she needed in, like, 10 minutes, she retreated back to her bed and laid on her sleeping pose. She removed the lid of the plastic container, she picked up a piece of peeled cucumber and placed it carefully on her forehead and another and placed them all over her face, sparing no spot.

Then a knock came on her door, "Ino, troublesome, but it's me, Shikamaru,"

Great, what really needed to ruin the moment, does he really need to budge in when she's putting an effort to calm. "Go away," she managed to say without getting the cucumbers out of place and threw a random thing she could reach from her bedside table and aimed it at the door which banged. He got the message, she demanded for alone time and alone time is what she's going to get.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone, troublesome woman," he left with his trademark yawn.

"Who would want to marry an asshole like him?" she even forgot about the reason why she was crying to being with!

Then she remembered she threw the sand timer towards the door and remorsefully she got up and ran to the door, the cucumber falling apart. She bent down to touch the broken glass pieces and colourful sands scattered on her carpet. When meeting to a sharp edge, her finger pricked and she automatically puts it in her mouth. "Oww," she wailed, and forgetting the pain, she used the same finger to pile the sand up and threw them up in the air like snow. When they landed back on the carpet, they were gone; the broken glass pieces were gone too. She was in the same room but it looked different, and her clothes were changed and she sensed the pain on the finger didn't even leave a scar and felt her hair reached her waist already in her ponytail. Wait, she didn't tied her hair in a ponytail... it was let down. Something tells me things changed.

End of prologue

A/N: What do you think? Shall I continue? Yes? No? Any idea? Oh and, 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' though it won't be for me... TT-TT. Piano and Chinese lessons will resume. *sniff* reviews will really cheer me up! BB!