Picture in the wallet- The Misadventure of Shiho

by XxPinkPeachesxX

Shiho has a crush on Shikamaru, that much is obvious. With a little courage from her friend, Shiho finally feels ready to step up and confess her feelings to Shikamaru- something she's wanted to do for almost half a year. Putting it all on the line, she walks to the village in search of him, but she could have never prepared for what she found inside his wallet. [One-shot]

The MisAdventure of Shiho: The picture in the wallet.

Shiho was staring dreamily out the window of the library, watching fat white clouds crawl across the blue blanket sky. Twirling her blue ball point pen around her finger, she sighed dreamily, setting herself adrift in her own thoughts. Yurika was sitting at the table with her, reading deeply into the thick book she had cracked open on the table. As much as Yurika was trying to focus on brushing up on her coding algorithms, she couldn't help but notice her teammates head was in the clouds. At first, Yurika wasn't sure whether she should ask her good friend what was on her mind or not- seeing as Shiho was normally the first to start a conversation. By the fourth or fifth dreamy sigh, Yurika finally gave in. Closing the massive four thousand page book, Yurika rested her elbow on the table and put her chin in the palm of her hand. Shiho didn't notice what so ever, whatever she was thinking of, she truly was engulfed in her own world of thoughts. Grabbing a small blue elastic band, Yurika pulled it back, stretching it over her fingers and launching it right at Shiho. Bingo, right on target, it hit the blonde girl right in the center of her forehead.

"Wha!?" Shiho turned her head away from the window and back in the right direction.

"Earth to Shiho." Yurika said with a smile. "We won't get any work done unless you have a clear mind to focus."

"S-Sorry!" Shiho pushed up her glasses, her cheeks turning pink. She reached down onto her book and began flipping through the pages.

"Not so fast." Yurika put her other hand on top of the pages. "Why don't you tell me what's been on your mind first?"

"Who? What? Me!? Nothing!" Shiho was frantic, obviously hiding something.

Yurika smiled. "Shiho, I can read you like a book- like a non code binary book. We've been friends since the Academy days, and even if you weren't, anyone could see that something on your mind."

"Well, I..." Shiho began pulling at the end of her low pony tail that was tossed over her shoulder, a slightly annoying habit she had. "I guess I'm just thinking about..."

Yurika stared at her friend for only a moment, but her pink cheeks made her an easy code to crack.

"Oh! I know!" Yurika raised her pointer finger. "You're thinking of that shadow wielding Ninja, aren't you?"

"Sh!" Shiho said at once, frantically looking around the library.

"Oh, relax Shiho," Yurika smiled. "We're the only ones in here. So tell me what's up! What's the deal? You like him right?"

"Hm... well," Shiho played with her fingers, finally sighing. "It wouldn't matter if I did, he would never notice me."

"That's not true!" Yurika insisted. "You're both smart people, you could totally be compatible! I know your shy, Shiho, but you should just go for it! Shikamaru's a catch, so just confront him and confess to him!"

"What?!" Shiho couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Yurika looked confused.

Shiho paused for a moment before looking back out the window, her eyes focused on the clouds. "I don't have your confidence, Shiho."

Yurika paused for a moment before standing up and walking to the other empty library table. A bunch of teenage girls had came and gone, but they had left a magazine on the table. Flipping through the pages, Yurika got a pretty good idea of what she needed to do. Running back to the table where Shiho was sitting, she grabbed her blonde friend by the hand pulled her into the washrooms.

"What are we doing?" Shiho asked confused.

"Just wait, and don't argue!" Yurika said as she started going over Shiho head to toe. "First things first. Off with the lab coat!"

Forcefully pulling off her lab coat, Yurika next took Shiho's hair out of the pony tail and tried styling with her finger in a way that made it frame her face nicely. Pulling out a stick of glossy red lipstick, Yurika carefully applied a coat of it across Shiho's lips and untucked her shirt.

"There! Perfect!" Yurika gave herself a pat on the back. "What do you think, Shiho?"

Shiho stared at herself in the in the mirror for a moment, tucking a few odd strands behind her ear.

"Whoa, I look totally different!" Shiho couldn't stop looking at herself.

"So, you know what you gotta do now, right, Shiho?" Yurika gave her friend a big toothy smile.

"Er, no?" Shiho did admit she looked great, and though it was a confidence boost, she still didn't want to go take Shikamaru by storm.

"Go! Go go!" Yurika pushed Shiho to the door. "And don't come back until you've faced him!"

Slam.

Just like that, Shiho was locked out of the library. No matter how hard Shiho kicked or how loud she yelled, she knew that Yurika wouldn't let her back in until she did what she asked. Defeated, Shiho wondered if she really could to confess to Shikamaru how she felt. Ever since they first met, decoding that message on the old frogs back, she hadn't been able to get him off of her mind. He protected her in the fight against pain, he was smart, brave, sweet, and good looking. But the most outstanding trait of his, is that he was one of the greatest Ninjas the leaf had to offer. Dizzy by the thought of him, Shiho tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Yurika was right. Shikamaru was a catch, and a bachelor of the Leaf Village. If Shiho didn't act fast, he would be snapped up by some pretty young girl, and then Shiho wouldn't have a chance.

"Ugh! Who am I kidding!" Shiho threw herself against the wall of a near by building. "He's probably got so many girls after him already, I probably won't have a chance."

Shiho tried picturing Shikamaru with any other girl from the leaf, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see him with anyone from the village but her. Tightening a fist Shiho took a deep breath. She couldn't count herself out yet, not before even trying. She might not have a lot of confidence, but Shiho would try anything, at least once.

"It's decided." Shiho said to herself. "I'll take one walk around the village. If I don't run into Shikamaru on the way, then I'll take it as fates way of telling me it's not meant to be. But, if I do run into him on the way..." Shiho trailed off.

Looking up to the sky once more, Shiho made a promise to herself.

"If I see Shikamaru along the way, I'll tell him how I feel."

Walking through the town, past the shops, Shiho spend the whole time in her head, conflicted. Did she want to run into Shikamaru? Was she ready to tell him how she felt? Would he accept her? Through out her walk, Shiho was on the fence on what to do. It was only when she was walking past the Hokage building did she make up her mind. As she passed the red building and turned down the pathway, there he was. Shikamaru.

He was standing there, looking godly as he leaned against the trunk of a tree. Standing in the shade, he had his hands in his pockets, looking up at the clouds. Shiho felt her heart skip a beat, it had been a little while since they last spoke. Even though her heart was beating at the speed of light, Shiho gritted her teeth. There was no way she could back out now, not after coming all this way. She had to do this. If she didn't, she would have to tell Yurika that she chickened out, and she couldn't endure that. Even still, Shiho wanted to do this for herself above anything. Taking a final deep breath, Shiho left the corner she was cowering in, and stepped out. Shikamaru saw her the moment she did, and it took all her might to not to turn and run away. He gave her a funny look, like he didn't exactly recognize her at first glance, but as soon as he did, his look of confusion faded into general friendliness.

"Is that you, Shiho?" Shikamaru said as she approached.

"Yeah, it's me." Shiho was glad she still had her voice to work with. "I thought I'd take a stroll, funny running into you here."

"Yeah, I'm not one to get up in the early hours of the morning." Shikamaru yawned. "It's a drag, but whatever."

"So, what are you doing up so early anyways?" Shiho couldn't believe that she was standing so close to him in the shade of the early morning summer sun.

"I've been put on Escort duty for a visitor who arrived at the Leaf this morning." Shikamaru looked up at the official building. "I'm just waiting for her to finish her briefing with the Hokage."

"Her?" Shiho tried to keep the conversation casual, even though she was curious. "Someone important?"

"A little bit." He said with a smirk. "At least, she thinks so. Her names Temari, she's the sister of the Kazekage of the Sand. Whenever she's in town, I'm put in charge of being her escort and following her around the village. It's a real drag."

Shiho narrowed her eyes. For someone who seemed to be complaining about his job of being her escort, he had a smile on his face.

"So, what's the deal with her?" Shiho was trying to pry without showing the confusion on her face. "Are you two friends?"

Shiho was half hoping he would say that he was friends with Temari's younger brother, the middle child, Kankuro, or something along those lines. Shiho didn't know much about Temari, other than she fought Shikamaru in the Chunine exams, and that she was the oldest of the sand siblings. Shiho watched the leaves fall from the tree they were standing under as a breeze rustled the branches, while simultaneously trying to push back the reminder that Temari was beautiful.

"Friends?" Shikamaru pulled his head down from the clouds as he scratched the back of his neck, a small smile slipping over his face. "She's troublesome, but, yeah. You could call us that."

Suddenly, a bird that was sitting in the branches of the tree's shot out with a loud chirping noise, sending leafs flying in every which direction.

Letting out a surprised cry, Shiho stumbled into Shikamaru, who caught her clumsily. Red in the face, Shiho quickly jumped back, able to stand on her feet again.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She apologized, but of course, he was the perfect gentleman about it.

"No worries." He said with a smile, but the contents of his jacket pocket had fallen to the ground in the scuffle.

"Here, let me help you." Shiho offered immediately, falling to her knee's as she began to pick up the scattered items. "It was my fault, after all."

Shikamaru bent down next to her, picking up his keys and his lighter. Shiho passed him his package of cigarets, unaware that he smoked. Looking at his personal items scattered on the ground, Shiho realized she really didn't know all that much about him. Something brown against the tall green grass caught her eye, it was Shikamaru's wallet. Shiho reached over to it, it was laying open facing upwards. Shiho picked it up, and her heart stopped. She didn't mean to snoop, she really didn't, but the moment she saw the photo in his wallet, her heart dropped- and she knew.

Shikamaru was saying something, but Shiho had her eyes fixed on the photo. It was an odd feeling, like sadness, but also a strange underline of happiness. He looked so happy in the photo, standing close to the pretty blonde Suna girl who had her head on his shoulder. He was looking at her with such a loving look. Shiho hated it, but at the same time, she was happy for him.

"Hinata, now there's someone who use to be really jumpy-" Shikamaru stopped as he gathered up the last little bit of his items, and looked over to Shiho, her eyes on that photograph. "O-Oh! That's-"

Shiho closed the wallet and handed to Shikamaru.

"Sorry, I wasn't snooping." Shiho said, feeling ridiculous. "It's just a cute photo, that's all."

Shikamaru stood up blushing, reaching a hand down to her. Shiho gladly took it, dusting off her pants after being helped up to her feet again. Shikamaru looked like he was racking his brain for an explanation, still blushing and clutching the wallet.

"It's okay." Shiho forced a smile. "I get it."

Shikamaru let out a long sigh in response. "Aw man. Shiho, please, promise me you'll keep this a secret."

"A secret?" Shiho tilted her head.

"If anyone knew about this- oh man. I would never hear the end of it!" Shikamaru shoved the wallet back into his pocket.

"What do you mean?" Shiho was surprised. "No one knows that you two are-"

"Hello there."

This time, both Shikamaru and Shiho jumped at the sound of a voice behind them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Temari had a rather large looking scroll tucked under her arm. "It was a lot to go over. Oh, hello there."

Shiho paused a moment, unsure what to do. Lady Temari had just acknowledged her.

Bowing, Shiho tried not to panic, but her effort was pointless.

"L-Lady Temari of the Sand! It's a honor to meet you!" Shiho sputtered.

"Nice to meet you too." Temari said awkwardly, and Shiho realized she hadn't introduced herself. "You're pretty. Shikamaru, who's this? Your girlfriend?"

"Wha!" Shiho shot right up, feeling the blood rush to her face. "No! No of course not!"

"I'm only teasing." Temari smiled.

Shiho couldn't tell who's face was more red, her or Shikamaru.

"Too cruel." Shiho mumbled to herself, then added a little louder in a sincere tone; "Of course I'm not his girlfriend, do I look like any match for you?"

"Hm?" Temari said, looking surprised. Now it was her turn to blush. "What do you mean?"

The dumb-act didn't work on someone as smart as her, even Shiho could see that.

"Oh nothing!" Shiho bowed again respectfully. "I'm just saying I wouldn't even dream about going after your boyfriend!"

The words were out of her mouth, and despite how horrified she was with herself, they kept pouring out.

"Boyfriend?" Temari moved her glance from Shiho to Shikamaru, a funny look on her face.

It was like she wasn't sure if she should laugh it off, or be embarrassed, in the end, her face ended being just as red as Shikamaru's who had buried his face in his hand, like he couldn't believe that Shiho had just said that.

"So I guess you refer to me as your girlfriend? I had no idea." Temari muttered.

The three of them were left in a melting pot of awkward silence, and finally Shiho blurted out the one thing she wasn't suppose to.

"Well of course! He does carrie a picture of you in his wallet."

"Shiho!" Shikamaru looked at her with both embarrassment and horror.

"Oops!" Shiho covered her mouth, deciding it was best to play it off like she meant to say it. "Well, I think I've said enough, see you later Shikamaru!"

Yeah right... Shiho ran as fast as she could into the Hokage building to hide. I won't ever be able to face him again after this mess! Shiho, you idiot!

Covering her mouth and holding in her tears, Shiho slammed her head against the wall. She had started off the conversation so confident- what happened? That picture flashed into her mind. Temari happened, that's what. The moment she saw that picture, that was it, it was all down hill from their. The words came tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them, that last look he gave her as she fled killed her. How could she do something so stupid like that? Not only did she make a fool of herself in front of Lady Temari, but she made Shikamaru undoubtedly hate her.

Walking down the hallway, Shiho intended to leave though the back door and flee without being seen, but as she moved down the hallway, she passed an opening that led to the outside where Shikamaru and Temari were still standing. Crouching, Shiho closed her eyes. It seemed like she would just have to lay low and wait until they left, it was the only way she could not be seen. She just prayed Shikamaru didn't look her way, and neither of them heard her trying to keep her tears in check.

"Uh."

Shiho hated what she did, she left Shikamaru completely lost. If she ruined something between him and Lady Temari, Shiho would never forgive herself.

"Who was that girl?" Lady Temari looked in the direction Shiho had fled, but she was long gone now.

"Shiho, she's a very skilled decoder. I believe she's apart of the Konoha Cryptanalysis team." Shikamaru also glanced in the direction in which Shiho disappeared.

"And is it true?" Temari folded her arms.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb."

Shikamaru leaned back on the tree. "Damn. Women. They're all so troublesome."

Despite it all, Shikamaru still smiled.

"Well." Temari was blushing as she held her hand out to him. "Let me see!"

"Man." Shikamaru muttered, running his hand over the top of his head. He paused for a moment, like he was thinking about not showing her, but finally, with a sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his brown leather wallet, dropping it in the blonde woman's hand.

Temari held it for a heart beat, then opened it, her face turning pink.

"You keep this on you all the time?" She asked quietly, giving the wallet back.

"Yeah." Shikamaru put it back in his pocket.

"Why?" Temari held her hands behind her.

Shikamaru looked at the sky again, eyes locked on the clouds. "You're my good luck charm." He said it quietly, so quietly it barely reached Shiho.

Temari looked taken aback, Shiho was too. Neither of them expected something so sweet and sentimental from Shikamaru.

"Don't look at me like that." Shikamaru finally lowered his gaze from the sky. "You have a copy of that photo too, don't you."

"Well- I..." Temari avoided his eyes. "Yeah, so what?"

Shikamaru broke into a small smile. "Where is it?"

"At home."

"Where?"

"In my room."

"Where?"

"I told you, in my room."

"Where in your room?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Because I want to know where you keep it."

"It's inside my pillow case."

"Aw, really? The one that you sleep on?"

"Shut it! That doesn't matter!"

A clearly embarrassed Temari turned her back to Shikamaru, leaving Shiho to duck down to avoid being seen. Shiho narrowed her eyes. What a weird exchange. It was like they were dating for a while now, but had they been keeping it a secret? Shiho wondered, and strained to hear more.

"Weren't you the one who suggested that we kept it a secret in the first place?" Temari turned the tables on him. "What's the big idea keeping in your wallet for anyone to see?"

"I guess I was tired of hiding it."

The response caught Temari off guard.

"What?" She asked shyly, like she didn't hear him right.

"You heard me. I'm tired of keeping it a secret. At first I wasn't sure, but after Shiho spilled everything to you, I realized that enough is enough." Shikamaru pulled himself off the tree, walking till he was nose to nose with her. "I love you. I'm not afraid to say that out loud anymore. I guess I never really was afraid."

Shiho knew better not to get up and look while there was a silence. It wasn't right of her to listen to their exchange, she surely wasn't about to watch them kiss.

"I guess I'm grateful to Shiho. Without her, I might never have had the change to finally come to terms with how I feel about you." Shikamaru said, his tone genuine.

"I guess I'm grateful to her as well." Temari replied.

Giving in, Shiho peered around to see them. Her head on his shoulder, just like in the photograph. Shikamaru pulled Temari close to him, his arm wrapped around her waist. Slowly, Shikamaru raised his right arm until it was straight up in the air, and in a single moment, raised his thumb. There was no doubt in her mind, Shiho knew that was for her. Shikamaru turned his head, and they met eyes. Shiho's heart skipped a beat, even still. He didn't need to say a word, Shiho could tell by the look in his eyes- he truly was grateful.

It hadn't gone as planned, but in the end, Shiho was glad things turned out the way it did. It was true, she couldn't have pictured him with anyone in the leaf other than her, but that was probably because he was never interested in a girl from the leaf. His heart stayed with a woman in the sand. The walk back to the library felt a lot shorter, and when she pushed on the door, it was unlocked.

As soon as she sat down, Yurika gave her a full interrogation.

"How'd it go? Did you confess? What did he say? You did do it, right?" Yurika tossed the books aside, ready and waiting.

Shiho sighed, looking out the window to the sun that had just reached it's peak, the clouds that were once fast moving had slowed to a lazy speed.

"Let's just say he's happy. In the end, that's all that matters."

"What!" Yurika clearly wasn't satisfied with that answer, but it was all Shiho would give her.

When the sun began to set, Shiho packed up her books and headed home. Yet, walking though the town, Shiho couldn't help but over hear the chatter that was going on around town. It seemed like the whole leaf was abuzz with new gossip, which is why Shiho wasn't surprised on the way home she was stopped by her friend Miki, who was clueless to her feelings- her past feelings on Shikamaru. Miki excitedly grabbed Shiho's arm, shaking it wildly.

"Have you heard yet?" Miki smiled, peering around. "The gossip that's spreading like wildfire?!"

"No, what?" Shiho lied with smile, this time it wasn't forced.

"Apparently a Jonin from the leaf village swayed the heart of Lady Temari from the village hidden in the sand! Isn't that crazy! They were spotted walking through the village hand-in-hand like it wasn't a big deal!" Miki squealed. "It's an international love-story! Everyone's talking about!"

"Do you know who the lucky Jonin is?" Shiho asked, wondering if that much had gotten around.

"No! That much hasn't circulated yet!" Miki rubbed her hands together, a gossip as usual. "Why, do you know?"

"He's a very smart, and lucky man."

Shiho said, coming to peace with it at last.

"Maybe one day someone will carry a picture of me in their wallet."

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Authors note;

Ayyyoo. Another Fan-Fiction, I'm on a roll! :D

Ah yes, my dear Shiho. You got a lot of hate from Shika-Ino fans, for whatever reason, but Shika-Tema fans still love ya. You may not have Shikamaru, but hey, at least in the story you helped him out, in your own clumsy way.

I will never stop rubbing Shika-Tema cannon into the faces of Shika-Ino shippers. The pig girl was never good enough to get with Shikamaru, I think deep down even the Shika-Ino shippers knew that.

TrollTrollTrollTrollTrollTrollTroll Harrrrd.

Anyway, hope you liked this story, if you did, feel free to leave it a review! Tell me what you think! :D

Thanks so much for reading, and as always, I'll see you at the end of my next story.

Chow for now loves~

-Pink Peaches.

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Ignore this part.

or don't, you sassy lassie you.

Words: 3888 (Without Authors notes or Title introduction.)

File: 1/1

Status: Complete

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I don't own Naruto because I'm not smart enough to come up with that shit on my own.

All rights to the owner and creator.