The sky was the perfect shade of radiant blue and was clear of clouds that usually decorate the sky. Gusts of wind blowing around every so often and the air was rather cold, but the sun burning strongly seemed to compensate the windy air, giving off comforting warmth to those who are out in the streets.
The legendary Ino-Shika-Cho; Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza were having lunch in Ichiraku Ramen as a small get together for the sake of keeping in touch with each other every now and then.
"Today is a good day huh, Inoichi. Just a friendly reminder, I won that bet. Even the sky seems to be happy for my victory too."
Shikaku smirked as he gorged on his massive bowl of chicken tonkotsu ramen. The stress stemming from his piling work had caused his appetite to increase in a remarkable rate.
"I hope that brain of yours haven't become rotten yet as to forget the bet." He added, his mouth still forming a smirk.
Seems like not only his appetite have increased, but his ego too. He's enjoying this too much. Inoichi noted.
"Ohhh I have nearly forgot about the bet!" Choza got excited at the topic.
"Never in my life have I thought of the possibility of our Shika-kun really falling for her. I mean, it's Ino-chan." He continued with a facial expression of confusion and excitement combined. "Don't get me wrong, Inoichi. Your daughter is a jewel, but Shika-kun has always been so laid-back and never bothered with anything. He thinks Ino-chan is too troublesome."
Inoichi sighed inwardly, "Honestly I also have never expected my Ino to develop a romantic feeling towards Shika-kun. She used to like that cool, quiet, very handsome village heartthrob Sasuke." Inoichi paused and stared at the countertop in front of him in contemplation, before piping up again, "But when I think about it, Shika-kun is very similar yet at the same time very different with Sasuke."
Choza had just gulped down the remains of the ramen soup until its very last drop when he asked, "That Uchiha Sasuke? How does Shika-kun resemble him in any way?"
Inoichi took a spoonful of his shoyu ramen before proceeding to elaborate his previous statement, "They are both quiet and only mind their own business. They're both cool guys. Sasuke is cool in a way that he is composed, serious and reserved, almost too stiff. But a cool, rigid guy is very hard for everyone to approach."
He took another spoonful of ramen. "Shika-kun is cool in a more… laid-back way. Him being all lazy, almost like he never had a care in the world yet he is so much of a gentleman. Seeing him so laid-back actually makes people feel that everything is going to be alright, much like how our dear friend Shikaku does here. A cool guy like him could comfort anyone with just his presence alone without saying anything at all. They are very similar in personality yet they have very different effect on people."
And his mind drifted off to the day Shikaku and he placed the bet.
"Ah, hello Yoshino-san." Inoichi greeted as Shikaku's wife opened the door.
"Hello Inoichi-san, Ino-chan." Yoshino smiled at them, "The Akimichis have already arrived, make yourself home."
They were gathering at Nara's massive residence to celebrate Shikamaru's eighth birthday. They made their way to Nara's garden where the adults were having coffee and snacks while little Shikamaru had his eyes closed while laying on the grass under a big tree to shelter him from the blinding sunlight and Choji folding paper cranes beside him.
Little Ino skipped over to them and squatted down beside Shikamaru and began poking him in the ribs, to which he immediately jerked forward and sit up in response, "Ino!"
"Shikamawu shouldn't be sleeping all day on his special day. See, I brought a present for you! Happy Birthday Shikamawu!" She beamed as she held out a box with blue wrappings tied with green ribbon.
"Troublesome girl" he mused, but he accepted the gift anyway.
"What's trubba… zum?" She asked, frowning.
Even at the young age of five, Shikamaru had shown signs of being a genius like his father. He knew a broad range of vocabulary most kids did not until they were at least twelve. Deciding that it would be a waste of time answering her question, he laid back down and closed his eyes once again.
"Don't ignore me!"
He groaned inwardly.
"Aren't you going to open the present now?"
"Later."
"You're not curious about what's inside?"
"Hn."
"I picked it out myself!" She let out a small giggle and grinned expectantly.
"Hn."
"Don't fall asleep on me!" She nagged some more and proceeded to shake him awake by his shoulder.
"Ino…" He let loose a small scowl despite the burning sensation against his face at her touch. She stared back at him with defiance.
"You are no fun Shika" She pouted and stood up to join Choji with origami. She began making flower crowns from sheets of colored paper.
He opened one eye at the mention of his nickname as she rarely called him by 'Shika'.
As much as a genius he was at eight years old, he was still too young and inexperienced to notice how his mood always lighten up at the sight of her nor understand why his face always grow hot when she talks to him, especially at those incorrect pronunciation of many words she was not able to enunciate.
Nevertheless, he fought down the blush and forced himself to take his mind off the tingling sensation in his shoulder.
The bundle of energy in the form of Ino had always attracted him, the lazy and unenthusiastic Shikamaru. He never paid any attention at troublesome things, and Ino ranked second most troublesome person in his life, the first being his mom. She was the bane of his existence yet he cannot seem to turn his attention elsewhere when she was around.
He always forced himself to look straight at the road in front of him whenever he walks side by side with her, but his mind was always glued to her, his eyes watching her every move from the corner of his eyes. He always forced himself to close his eyes and nap, but he could not stop himself from focusing his hearing and touch sense at her presence beside him to try figuring out what she was doing when his eyes were closed. He always grew wary at other boys who purposely drop a pencil near her to strike some conversation with her afterwards.
He thought it was because there was a different effect guys and girls have on him. He thought it was because they were so close that he needed to protect her from any harm that may come her way. He thought that other boys other than him and Chouji were not good enough to talk to Ino.
She was popular after all. She was pretty on a whole different level compared to other girls in the academy. She was easygoing and likes to help people. She was smart, active, responsible and energetic. She had a certain glow about her. She shone like the sun and makes everyone want to be her friends.
He was attracted to her and he could not do anything to stop it. Opposites do attract after all.
"Troublesome." He muttered to himself.
After a while, lots of paper cranes and flower crowns surrounded them. Ino placed one of the flower crowns on top of Shikamaru's head, much to his chagrin because boys do not wear flower crowns, especially if it is in pink color.
He took it away, but Ino put it back on his head in persistence. His heart pounded at her adorable perseverance to make him wear it and fought down a smile threatening to form on his lips.
He knew it would be troublesome to deal with her reaction if she was unable to have her way, which automatically made opposition out of the options. He then submitted to it, feigning a pout and frown on his face to hide a blush.
A few moments later he felt his stomach grumble and made his way to the table where the adults were chatting to grab some matcha and almond milk pancakes. Choza noticed the pink paper crown and took it upon himself to tease him a bit.
"Shika-kun, you look even cuter with that pink paper crown adorning your head." Choza was grinning widely now.
Shikamaru let out a groan, "Ino made me wear it."
Choza grew a little more interested than he already was, "So you're willing to wear it just for Ino-chan's sake?"
"Hn, I don't know, she's a girl and all" The little boy shrugged.
"What does being a girl have anything to do with this?" He raised an eyebrow.
Shikamaru frowned and gave it a little thought, "Ughh… I don't… know... I just feel like I have to do whatever she says especially because she is a girl, and a demanding one at that. She will beat me up if I don't." Shikamaru explained with a yawn as Choza smiled in satisfaction with Shikamaru's answer.
Ino also went to the table to pour herself a cup of tea. The teapot shook almost violently in her hand as she struggled to cope with the weight. Inoichi was about to help his little princess when Shikamaru beat him to it.
He gently grabbed the teapot from her hand and poured the contents into the cup with ease. Inoichi, who was listening to Choza and Shikamaru's conversation earlier, smiled knowingly,
"You sure raised quite a son, Shikaku." Said man just smirked, feeling proud of his son.
"Well, he learns from the best." He looked over to the side to find his son already laying his head on the table, too sleepy to be listening to what the adults are saying, whereas Ino had gone to Choji's side to bring him cookies and helped him fold more paper cranes.
"An apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh?" Choza piped up.
Growing up watching his father always submitting to his mother and never offering a resistance sure made Shikamaru do the same. Even though he has not gotten the idea of the unwritten rule on how men should always be courteous to women, he grew up a gentleman without knowing anything about it.
"That courteous manner of his… it's almost as if it was innate. I bet he could make any girl swoon over him one way or another when he's grown older" He added and let out a hearty laugh.
Shikaku leaned towards Inoichi, "Well I bet your little princess will pant after my son in a few years time." He then laughed together with Choza while Inoichi looked like he was sulking.
Choza managed to calm himself before saying, "Well, best friend's son or not, Inoichi will definitely kill Shika-kun if he hurts his little princess. Hell he will even trail them on their first date."
Inoichi grumbled, "I, surprisingly, will not deny that, but… if it's Shika-kun, or Choji-kun, I trust them enough to not hurt her intentionally. Those two are good boys, at least that much I know."
That was then when Shikaku offered him to place a bet, in which Shikaku bet that Ino will end up together with Shikamaru. Inoichi was reluctant at first, but he accepted it in the end after some contemplation. Choza thought the bet was silly, because Shikamaru and Ino are like Yin and Yang; too different. He thought Shikamaru who was always muttering the word 'troublesome' will not take such a demanding girl like Ino to be his girlfriend.
But of course, Yin and Yang are inseparable despite the differences.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say it's even more than possible, Choza. You know, us Nara men are attracted to troublesome women like Yoshino and Ino-chan. They are the ones who keep us in line, without tyrannical women like them, lazy-asses like my son and I would not know what to do with life."
As if on cue, Ino shrieked and started wailing loudly that quickly annoyed the sleepy Shikamaru. He raised his head to look at Ino and groaned at the invasive sound. He never liked it when girls cry. Every second of the crying sound made his heart ache as if it was squeezed.
He felt a sense of wanting to protect and comfort her, and was contemplating whether to act on it or wait for one of the adults to calm her down.
Inoichi had just put his cup of coffee down and was about to stand up, when again, Shikamaru had beaten him to it. He watched as the little boy hastily jumped down from his seat after muttering his trademark 'mendokuse' and strutted over to approach Ino.
"Ino, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, while trying to hide his overflowing concern.
Ino looked up at him with big teary eyes, "The-there was a big lizard.. at first it stayed quiet then suddenly it jumped to my lap…and then…and then-"
"Sshh…" Shikamaru reached to pat her head and repeatedly stroke her smooth platinum blonde hair in an attempt to calm the now hiccupping Ino.
He noticed that she had scraped the back of her palm too, and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb on the side of the scratch to soothe the pain. He was almost surprised at how smooth her skin was.
Although he was trying to calm her down, the physical interaction they had was the thing that made him feel calm and relaxed, like it felt right. Like he was meant to touch her skin.
Ino's crying eventually stopped, and was replaced by sleepiness as she dropped her head and leaned on Shikamaru's shoulder before sleep overtook her. She had caught him off guard and he was hesitant at first. He could feel familiar warmth creeping up his face and ears. His heart was pounding and his hands started to tremble at the close proximity.
He may seem like he did not care about hardly anything and thought girls were troublesome, but no one ever thought that he was also shy and did not know how to deal with girls.
He decided to lean back against the tree chunk. He wrapped his arm around her back and scooted her closer to him, trying to make her feel comfortable in his lap before tucking her head under his chin and drifting himself off to sleep at the newfound calming sensation from hugging her.
Inoichi had his mouth open wide enough for a baby's fist to fit into, "I can't believe what I have just witnessed. How in the world did your son managed to calm her down in two minutes when it takes me at least an hour."
And the day came where Shikaku's prediction actually became reality.
Inoichi, who lost the bet, paid for the ramen where he almost ran out of money because he was paying for Choza's twelve whole bowls of ramen too after all. He had not even had enough time to mull over the loss of his money when he was suddenly greeted by the sight of Ino and Shikamaru standing in front of him.
Ino was smiling widely and hugging Shikamaru's left arm like he was the last man on earth while the boy fought a blush and tried to look elsewhere nervously to avoid Inoichi's glare that was burning on the side of his face.
"Daddy! Shikamaru and I are getting married in two months!" She beamed as she held out her left hand right in front of Inoichi's shocked face to show the wedding ring Shikamaru picked out for her.
Shikamaru's heart beat even faster and sweated some more as he felt an intense killing intent directed right at him, sending shivers up his spine. Trust Ino to break the news at the wrong time and at the wrong place.
Choza watched the event occurring with astonishment, while Shikaku's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden news.
"Oh, I see, Shikamaru, huh? So that's how it is, boy? You're planning to marry my daughter?" The bone-chilling fury in his voice could not be missed.
Shikamaru gulped and cursed himself for falling in love with a daddy's little girl. He could feel his legs and fingers shaking in his pockets. Ever since he started dating Ino, her father had been giving him more 'attention' to ensure he would not violate his daughter.
He clenched his trembling jaw before taking a deep breath and stammered, "Y-yes, sir. I promise to never hurt her and I will not let you down, sir."
It was embarrassing to have to say all that in front of his father and his friends and he knew how his face must be red beet by now. He clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to stop his hands from trembling.
Surrounded by the Akatsuki, he could take. The anger of Chouji after being called fat, he could also take. But the wrath of his girlfriend's father, he could not take.
Inoichi began cracking his knuckles and Shikamaru's legs immediately turned jelly, barely holding him up.
"You two have only been dating for barely a year!" He barked.
Shikamaru flinched at the sudden outburst and looked at his father, hoping for some support, but Shikaku just smirked and enjoyed the little interrogation his friend is holding. Good luck with that, Son.
He felt helpless. True, they had only been dating for a year, but Ino and him were so close since they were little children it felt like he had been dating her his whole life.
Ino had pestered him into marriage, as a shinobi's life is not guaranteed to be long. He did not want to rush it, but he thought of the possibility of 200 different outcomes if he rejected her. One being him getting dumped for another guy that would happily marry her –heck like he would even let any guy get near her, another one being her suffering from amnesia after returning back from her mission and forget about everything that was going on between them and that she would fall for some other guy other than him, and the list of crazy possibilities went on. He did not want any of that and sure will not going to have that.
He went out of his way to ask Sakura, Hinata and Tenten on how he should propose to her. Ino loved romance too much after all. She would kill him if he did not propose to her romantically. He could have thought of 200 possible ways to propose but he figured Ino must have told her girl friends tons of her own ideal way of how he should propose to her, and that included getting down on one knee, a bouquet of 239 roses which means 23 September–the date of their anniversary and her birthday, a romantic expensive candlelight dinner, and the list went on. So he went to her girl friends for advice and saved him from all the effort.
The ring he chose himself had small diamonds encircling the band with a big blue, opal-shaped diamond. He thought the opal-shaped blue diamond reminded him of her cerulean orbs and purchased the ring without needing to think twice.
But he couldn't tell her father Ino-pestered-me-to-marry-her kind of answer, as it would enrage Inoichi more. He could figure out enemy's intentions and abilities under battle pressure while maintaining his shadow jutsu at the same time, but under Inoichi's killer intent, it felt like his brain had shut down and rendered him speechless.
And he wondered why he wanted to date this crazy demanding girl with a crazy over-protective father in the first place.
Please share a little bit of your thoughts and review! Don't be scared, I don't get offended easily, so negative or positive reviews, shoot them all at me! And don't forget to follow the story, the next chapter will be up in a couple of weeks.