Possessive

Yugao

Summary: Something in him ached as he stood there with her in his arms, knowing he could have done something to keep her from crying.

Author's Note: After Jealous came out, some people were demanding a sequel or a second chapter. Since it was a one-shot, I decided to make a companion instead. Possessive picks up some time after Jealous left off. So… I wouldn't recommend reading this before you've read the aforementioned one-shot, but if you don't mind a few misunderstandings here and there, you're good to go. Plus, there are spoilers that are pretty much known to everyone now anyway.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shikamaru and Ino.

"I hate it when you're right."

He didn't stir at the soft, strained voice or the secrets it hid behind her muted sniffles and suppressed sobs. He sat there atop the building with her, watching as the almost white-gold orb slowly inched its way upwards into the vast expanse of the clear blue sky. Though the gauzelike, filmy clouds sailed past, his dark eyes seemed not to see them at all.

He had said nothing since he had found her there at the crack of dawn, atop the Academy they had left when they were younger. It was by chance that his aimless wandering took him to the top of the schoolhouse – he had certainly not expected to find his teammate there, with tears staining her pale face. She saw him, carelessly brushed away her tears, and tried to pretend, for a while, that nothing was wrong.

But he knew, despite all her pretenses, that she was being torn apart bit by bit.

And so he kept silent. He knew she would tell him in due time – that silence and his understanding were the only things she needed, if only for a few fleeting moments. He sat down with his back to the metal railings that separated him from the morning's heavy, mist-laden air; he watched her cup her face with her hands, her chest rising and falling rapidly and irregularly between muffled cries. He watched her long blond hair cling to the tears that streaked her unnaturally pale cheeks. He sat there and watched her, no matter how much it pained him.

When he didn't answer, she averted her gaze; she followed his instead and watched the sun rise between the distant blue-gray mountains. She seemed surprised at his silence, but only subtly. Any hint at it dissolved as she stood up and walked across the rooftop silently, as if chasing the rising sun into the morning sky. She looked back at him, and he pushed himself up off the ground and followed her.

Her blue-green eyes were red-rimmed and watery. He was stunned, to say the least, at the imminent frailty that had enveloped his teammate, his dearest friend, his… he sighed. She had always been so strong, both physically and emotionally. There was very little that drove her to tears, and seeing her so fragile, so vulnerable, frightened him.

She noticed the concern in his eyes, and she chuckled a little – but it didn't stem from happiness, or amusement. It was a laugh born of irony. She looked away, down at the Academy, at the schoolyard, at the desolate swing that creaked back and forth in the cool brush of wind. He watched her still; he was afraid that saying a single word would drive her back into her sadness.

Above everything else, he hated seeing her like this: broken, like a porcelain doll shattered to a million pieces on a hard stone floor.

"I saw Sasuke a while ago," she began, though the words seemed to have been choked out grudgingly, reluctantly. He eyed her curiously, still keeping quiet as she brushed away a lone tear that trickled down her face. She laughed again, that strange sardonic laughter he hated hearing from her. It sounded so defeated, so resigned, so… unlike her. "I was looking for him, actually. And I found him, right over there."

She pointed to the forest, where most of the groups trained their weapon skills and taijutsu in the clearings, and their speed and agility between the trees. Where she pointed to exactly, he wasn't quite sure; her hand was shaking, but the ironic smile remained on her face. He looked away – he wasn't used to seeing her like that.

She went on, as if she never noticed his dismay. "I talked to him. I've been wanting to, you know – ever since I promised you I'd do my best not to get hurt. Ever since I promised you I'd be careful with him, to never let him take my heart and break it so easily. But the truth was, I knew – no, I thought, and I thought foolishly – that I could prove you wrong. That Sasuke is capable of… no, not just capable, but willing, to care for me."

He looked at her questioningly, as if to ask what he had not the courage to put to words: what did he say?

As if she heard his silent question, she gave a soft sigh, abandoning the laugh he thought was ill suited to her. The tears had begun to well up again in her eyes, and he waited patiently for her to calm down. Finally she found her voice again, and went on. "I greeted him good morning," she started, but when he raised his eyebrow at that, she corrected herself. "Well, it was too early for me to be taking a stroll, but when I saw him from my window I wanted the chance to talk to him alone."

He nodded absently, but his fists had begun to clench and unclench with a fury he struggled to contain. So Sasuke had been the cause of her tears, once again. He suppressed his anger and tried to listen to her words. She went on, though her voice was trembling. "I tried. I tried to be the best I could be for him. I tried to change myself for him… for the better. I forced myself to fit into someone else's skin just so he would take notice of me."

"But… he didn't," she said, almost in a whisper.

He couldn't bear to see the despondency in her eyes.

"He told me…" her voice wavered, and she strived to keep its evenness but failed. "He told me he never held any feelings for me at all, and that he never will. He said… he said I would weigh him down, when all he will ever need to be is stronger. He said, that if he let me stay with him, I would end up his weakness."

At those words, it seemed as if the last dam holding back her tears had crashed, had become no more than a useless pile of debris. She cried, though silently, but every tear wrenched his heart like nothing else would have. He didn't dare look at her but looked; he didn't dare touch her but touched; he didn't dare say anything, but he spoke.

He reached out and drew her close to him; she cried her unshed tears against him. This comforted her, because she hung on to him, afraid of being hurt. He shared her fears as he looked down at her, who had so often been strong, now so delicate. Something in him ached as he stood there with her in his arms, knowing he could have done something to keep her from crying.

But it was too late.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru," she whispered; she lowered her voice trying to stem the unevenness with which she spoke. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you. I should have…"

He cut her off. "I'm the one who should be sorry, Ino," he replied, "I let you go, instead of making you understand. I let you off with a promise that was made to be broken. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you, here."

Regrets hung in the air like the heavy morning mist.

"I'm never going to let that happen again," he finished.

The white-gold sun had risen above the distant mountains, and the strange clouds were only just beginning to disperse.

Author's Note: Meh… loads of symbolism in there that not even I understood at a second reading. Was it difficult? Please tell me what you thought of it but please, don't compare it to Jealous because I'd rather not hear those comments. Anyway, thanks for reading, could you spare some time to review?