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Summary: "She began to struggle more violently as her need for air increased. Suddenly, the figure that had been holding her underwater was tossed aside." ShikaIno. One-shot. Written in a half-hour.

Ino sighed. Team Gai and the Rookie Nine- EIGHT- had been searching Orochimaru's headquarters for hours. She had finished looking in her area, the kitchen, so she checked her reflection in a full sink. She noticed a dark figure and turned around.

Before she could see who it was, her head was shoved into the full sink.

She froze as the ice-cold water invaded her senses. However, after ten seconds, she thrashed around, trying to throw the figure off her.

Tears leaked out of her eyes and mixed with the water around her. "Shikamaru!" She wasn't sure why, but her mind screamed for him. "Please, Shikamaru, help me."

She began to struggle more violently as her need for air increased. Suddenly, the figure was tossed aside. Her head was lifted out of the water and she gasped for air. Ino found herself pressed against something warm. Almost too warm, after the freezing water. Arms were wrapped around her and she felt lips on her head.

"Shikamaru! Is Ino okay?" Naruto's voice called from somewhere across the room.

"She's breathing, if that's what you mean." The voice was right above her head. She opened her eyes to a fishnet covered chest. She pushed lightly on the chest and the arms let go of her. She looked up to see…

"Shikamaru…"

"Are you okay, Ino?" She nodded. Her eyes widened in shock as he hugged her. "Thank god."

"What happened?" She looked around and noticed Naruto holding an unconscious Sasuke over his shoulder. "This guy has been sneaking around trying to kill every one of us. Shikamaru and I heard a lot of noise, you know, water splashing, shoes hitting things. We rushed in here, but Shika got here first and before I could even see what happened, he'd pulled you out of the sink and Sasuke was unconscious. Apparently, Shikamaru threw him against the wall and he hit his head, knocking him out. Your lucky Shikamaru showed up when he did."

Of course she was lucky. Lucky that she realized exactly how much Shikamaru cared about her. She wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into his chest while he held her and rocked her gently…

S.A.: …The warm fluffy feeling is back… even if it is dampened by the fact that this "romance" was a result of murder attempt… I apologize for the lameness. Review, please!