Five years had passed until he came back. He looked the same. His raven-black hair was the same. His cold, onyx eyes were the same. But he wore the clothing and forehead protector of a Sound ninja. Shikamaru was hiding in the bushes, suppressing his chakra, and watching the Uchiha prodigy, who was training in a well-hidden area in the forest. He stared at him with rage burning in his eyes. Most ANBU members, including himself, knew of his return, but Shikamaru couldn't quite believe that he did, or would ever, come back. Yet, there he was. Old memories flooded into Shikamaru's mind as his anger grew.

"Sasuke…" He whispered, almost inaudibly, almost as if it were only a thought passing through the mind. All the pain that bastard had inflicted upon those that cared for him, and loved him; Shikamaru remembered full well. Five years had passed when he came back. And almost everything had changed. Sakura and Naruto had been officially dating for two years now. Naruto never gave up on her, and it was when he almost lost his life saving her, that she returned his feelings. Anyone who saw them could tell that they were head-over-heels in love with each other. Naruto had also become incredibly strong under Jiraiya-sama's instruction, and Sakura became a very good medic and she was said to have the potential to better Tsunade-sama, who was her instructor. Hinata had grown her hair out and became a lot more outgoing. She also took the title of the Head of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, and made some well-needed changes in clan. Her relationship with Neji became closer, and treated each other as brother and sister. Everyone from the rookie nine stayed pretty much the same, including Team Gai, and excluding Sasuke, of course. Everyone had moved on. Except for a certain blonde flower-loving kunoichi.

Yamanaka Ino.

She was devastated when she learned of Sasuke's "disappearance", and had even cried in the arms of one Shadow-using genius. She refused to call Sasuke's departure as his betrayal, believing that he would come back soon. If "soon" meant half a decade, then her hopes would not have been in vain. It hurt to see her cry. Shikamaru could feel his heart clench so tightly that it hurt whenever she cried into his chest. He longed to kiss her worries away and hug her when they were both smiling. But he could only pat her back and smile sadly at her pale, shivering form. Her "condition" became less and less serious, and tried to convince Shikamaru that she was "fine, and so over the cold bastard". But Shikamaru knew better. After all, they were teammates of many years. Her smile was always too big, her normally sparkling blue eyes had developed a dull blue-grey film, and it always seemed like she was in a trance. She trained alone whenever she got off of her shift at her family's flower shop, often ending up at a bar. Now that she was of legal drinking age, she usually staggered home with a light, but noticeable, smell of alcohol. She would spray on a heavy perfume before slipping into her house, plopping onto her bed and falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, not bothering to change out of her usual attire.

Shikamaru knew all of this, because he saw. He watched her train, watched her drink, and watched her stumble into her bedroom. He wouldn't consider it as stalking, though. He was worried about her. He thought of her as a teammate, friend, sister, and perhaps even more. It pained him to watch her tear herself apart internally, and he hated not being able to console her. So he watched.

Then one day, she had drank one-too-many margaritas and blacked out on the middle of the road. Shikamaru had caught her before she had hit the ground and, not knowing what else to do, took her back to his apartment. He had laid her softly onto his bed and sat beside her. He had taken the tie that was holding his spiked ponytail together out, and ran his hand through his hair wearily. He had watched as she, even in her sleep, frown and a lone tear escaped her lids. She looked deathly ill, yet she was still beautiful. As his head had begun to droop with fatigue, Ino had stirred and her eyes fluttered open. Shikamaru's eyes had immediately sprung open and he muttered softly, "Are you alright?"

Ino apparently hadn't heard and exclaimed excitedly, with a glazed look in her eyes, "Sasuke! Sasuke-kun, is that really you?" She had laughed and hugged Shikamaru tightly, smiling up at him. He hadn't known what to do, but she looked happier that she had in, well, a long time. So he had murmured a soft "yes".

"I'm so glad that you're back, Sasuke-kun! I knew you wouldn't let us down! I-I missed you!" She had said joyously, oblivious to the fact that Shikamaru's heart was breaking with every sentence.

"I m-missed you too, Ino." He had hated saying this to her, lying to her, but…he wanted so badly to see her smile again. Her eyes had started welling up, and she cried into his shoulder,

"I love you Sasuke! Nothing can stop me from giving my heart to you!" Shikamaru had felt like he was the one who wanted to cry. Suddenly, Ino had pulled away from him and leaned towards him, eyes closed. Shikamaru had felt like he was in a daze, as her lips connected to his. It felt like an eternity had passed until their lips parted. She had smiled so radiantly, and it made him feel even worse about the kiss. She had whispered , "I love you…Sasuke" and drifted off to sleep into the arm of the man who wasn't Sasuke. Shikamaru knew that he loved her now, and still felt guilty about the kiss, but it was a kiss that he had always fantasized about, and longed to acquire, although he would never admit it. She had awaken about three hours later and had shaken him awake.

"Umm…Shikamaru" She had murmured quietly. "What just happened, and what are we doing in your apartment?"

"You, uh, fell asleep at the bar after you went training, and so I, uh, took you back to my place. And I honestly don't know how we got like this…" He had trailed off, hoping that she would believe the sorry excuse for a lie.

"Oh my god! I must've been really drunk; I don't even remember training today or anything after waking up! I'm so sorry Shikamaru! I'm so stupid, I should've watched what I was drinking more carefully. I'm sorry for being so troublesome." She had muttered, obviously flustered and embarrassed.

"It's okay." He had murmured back. He had offered to walk her back home, but she had insisted on going back alone, not wanting to be more troublesome or whatever than had already been. So, he could only wave sadly from his doorway and watch her walk away.

That event occurred about six months ago from present day, and Shikamaru never forgot about it, and never told Ino about what really happened. He was still feeling guilty. After he had offered to walk her home, she had told him that she didn't want to be troublesome and whatnot. But Shikamaru, Laziest Man in Konoha, would do anything, troublesome or not, for Ino.

Shikamaru glared darts at the charcoal-eyed subject. That Uchiha-teme had left Ino broken and devastated. Even before he left, he had acted coldly toward the blonde and stepped past her like she was some annoying mosquito. Shikamaru would make sure that the Sharingan-user would pay for every second that he caused her to be unhappy. He hesitated, and formed the seals for Kage Mane no Jutsu. He had recently perfected performing the ninjutsu without saying the name out loud and smirked as he saw the form of the present subject go rigid and he jumped out of the bushes.

"Uchiha." Shikamaru said flatly.

"Shikamaru." The man said back, smirking.

"So, you still remember my name…"

"Who wouldn't? After all, you are Konoha's top strategist."

"…"

"It would really be a shame for Konoha's top strategist to die right now." The Uchiha said arrogantly. His voice changed to a more serious tone as he asked, "What are you doing here anyways? How did you know I was here, and that I came back?"

"I saw you sneak in through the East gate after my mission was accomplished, and I followed you after I sent someone to report to the Godaime about your reappearance. Most ANBU members and a few select jounins already know that you've came back. After all, news travel quickly around the Hokage tower. My reasons for being here is none of your business, though it may become yours. But that's besides the point. Why are you here?" Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he waited for the answer.

"Seeing as you are about to die…I might as well tell you. Orochimaru and I have acquired quite a large force of Sound nin." He paused. Then continued, "We plan on allying with Iwagakure to destroy Konoha once and for all. Date is not settled, but our allies and forces are arriving at the campsite that is located on the Northern border of Konoha as we speak. War will begin soon."

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he heard this. And the only thing he could say was, "Sasuke…don't do this."

"Why?" He asked, nonchalantly.

"I thought that all you wanted was to avenge your clan and kill your brother…not join Orochimaru to start war with Konoha. Your mother and father would not want you to do this! After all, it was the Uchiha can that started the Konoha Police!"

"How did you know…" The Uchiha started, eyes narrowing.

"How did I know what? About you wanting to avenge your clan and kill your brother? Because Ino told me. Who, I assume, heard it from Sakura. You should know how fast word travels by the Konoha grapevine."

"Hn." He smirked. "There was a stupid rumor that I liked girls with long hair."

"You still remember that? How arrogant. Sakura kept her hair short, and she's with Naruto now. But Ino, she grew her hair out until it was longer than before…She still loves you." Shikamaru's heart constricted as he said this, but continued tiredly, "Even after all these years, she still hasn't gotten over you. She trains her ass off because of you, cries throughout the night because of you, and gets totally stoned because of you. Yet…you've never spared her a glance."

"She's just another annoying fan girl. Another person who just wants to fuck m-"

"No!" Shikamaru interrupted sharply. "She actually cares for you! Everyone who used to like you have moved on now, and they're probably disgusted of you because of your traitorous act! But Ino still loved you, and still believed that you would come back. She kept on telling herself that, and now she is not much more than a vegetable because of you! How could say that she's just another annoying fan girl?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "She does this even though I never cared for her?" He mused.

"Yes." Shikamaru said, wearily.

"…She is stupider than I thought." Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he said this, burning anger rekindling as the teme went on. "Why would someone do that? Going so low for someone who never and will never acknowledge her? Doing frivolous things in desperate attempt to 'woo' somebody who is thousands of miles away. She just doesn't see that she's throwing her life away for someone who will never care. She's just a dumb blonde after all."

At this, Shikamaru was in a rage. He couldn't believe how that Uchiha-bastard could say all of that after knowing what Ino had done for him, because of him. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins and started shouting. "YES, SHE THREW HER LIFE AWAY FOR SOME BASTARD, BUT THE BASTARD SHOULD AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE HER AND APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT HE DID TO HER. YOU DON'T DESERVE HER AT ALL, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!" Sasuke looked stunned at his sudden outburst, but then smirked.

"You really love her, don't you?"

"I…Yes. I love her as a teammate, as a friend, as a brother, and I love her even more than that. That's why you must pay for all of the hurt you have inflicted upon her!" Shikamaru slapped himself hard. Sasuke, who was still captured in his Shadow Bind, did the same. Shikamaru's face stung, but the tears that were stinging his face hurt even more. He punched himself in the head, and soon, both men's faces were dripping with blood. Shikamaru grabbed a kunai from his weapon pouch and aimed it toward his heart. Sasuke followed, eyes wide.

"W-What are you doing? Are you crazy? You'll get killed too!" The victim shouted.

"Heh." Shikamaru murmured. Then suddenly cried, "THIS IS FOR INO!" He plunged the kunai straight into his heart. Blood waterfalled down the wound, but Shikamaru felt only numbness, as the emotional pain of his heart was far greater than the physical pain. Both men staggered and fell to the ground as the shadow retreated to under the feet of the user. Shikamaru, who wore his ANBU uniform, suffered less damage, whereas Sasuke, with his flowy Sound-nin attire, received direct impact with the flesh.

"W-Why? Why do t-this f-for someone w-who doesn't love y-you back?" Sasuke gasped out.

"It's just l-like you s-said." Shikamaru replied with a sad smile. Then continued without a stutter, "It's because I really love her. Love does weird things to you, but you can't help but love that feeling." He watched as Sasuke's eyes started to close, but Shikamaru could hear Sasuke's heartbeat slowdown, but not stopping.

Suddenly, Ino jumped out into the clearing. She looked around, and apparently spotted Sasuke.

"Sasuke…?Sasuke!" She cried out, tears already falling from her eyes. She ran over to him and checked his pulse. After making sure he was still alive, she put both hands onto the open wound as a bright glow illuminated around her hands. The white light casting upon her tear-streaked face made her look like an angel in Shikamaru's eyes. His heart clenched once more as he recognized that the healing technique she used was for deep wounds and consisted of transferring the healer's life energy into the injured subject's wound. It was a healing technique she had developed, and only people from the Yamanaka clan and people with mind techniques could use it. Basically, one's life energy is one's chakra and spiritual energy combined, and only certain persons with the training of releasing one's spirit into the body of another could accomplish transferring life energy into another person. All you had to do was let your spirit seep slowly onto the wound of the patient, and mixing chakra with the spiritual energy was as easy as molding chakra. A single tear escaped as he saw her kneeling down and cradling the Uchiha's head in her arms, crying audibly and shoulders shaking. Shikamaru could hear her murmuring, "Please, Sasuke, please don't die! Please, Kami, don't let him die! Take me in his place!" After a few more spasms, her hiccupping and sobbing stopped. She looked around, and saw Shikamaru. Her eyes widened, and immediately rushed over to his side as soon as she laid Sasuke's head softly onto the grass.

Without a word, she healed Shikamaru's wound, using the same white light. Shikamaru couldn't help but feel elated at this. He smiled sadly up at her. "How did you get here?" He managed to ask.

After she had finished healing him, she replied, "This spot is near my training spot."

"I see." Ino got up and fired a flare up into the sky, signaling for help to come.

"You shouldn't talk too much."

"You've run out of chakra?" He asked, not listening to her previous comment.

"Unfortunately, yes." She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. "Why are you here with Sasuke-ku, I mean, Sasuke?"

"I-I had something I needed to do." He paused. "So you knew that the Uchiha came back?"

"Yes. I am an ANBU member, Shikamaru. News travel fast among us."

"Ah. I had conveniently forgotten about that."

Silence.

Shikamaru knew that she was still curious about what really happened, and she kept on glancing nervously toward Sasuke's limp figure. So he told her what had happened in a dry, dull voice. Ino's eyes widened as she heard what had happened.

"Why, Shikamaru? Why did you do this? How could you be so stupid?" She asked, voice rising.

"I did it for you."

"F-For me? But why?"

"Don't you see? It's because I love you." He stated simply.

Ino's eyes welled up in tears again and she leaned in to kissed him tenderly on the lips. After she pulled away, she whispered softly, "I love you too, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru gave her a sad smile, and replied sadly, "I know it's not true, but thank you anyway…You're beautiful, Ino…" He trailed off, as his vision blurred and his head dropped to the side.

It was found later, that Sasuke had died although Ino had used her special healing jutsu on him. But because the kunai had connected directly through the flesh, and because he had the cursed seal, which made medical jutsus not nearly as effective than without, Ino had not been able to save him. Also, it was later found in the forensics lab, that the kunai that Sasuke had apparently been training with, had a poisoned tip and blade.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was in a coma. He had on the heavy steel body plate that covered his torso, so the wound was not as deep. Ino had told everyone everything Shikamaru had told her, including Sasuke and Orochimaru's plans of attack, but minus the reason for doing what he did. This made Shikamaru a hero, and a ceremony was to be held as soon as he woke up.

Strangely, Tsunade said that Shikamaru could've been perfectly okay, and shouldn't be in a coma, especially since Ino had used her special healing jutsu on him. However, she said, being the powerful medic she is, Shikamaru's heart was already badly wounded before the event, and his mind could no longer handle the pain and shut down his system temporarily, if explained simply. But only Ino knew exactly what she meant.

Don't you see? It's because I love you.

Author's Notes: This is my very first fic. And I'm so excited! I was on like a three-year writer's block, and now I'm starting to write again! Well, okay, I forced myself to do this, but still! Do you like it?

I know that this fic. Is kinda angst and Shika-kun and Ino-chan don't really end up together, but this was what I was aiming for. I hope you like it! And I hope that the characters don't seem too OOC. But then again, love does weird things to you.

Please Read and Review! A million huggles if you do:D

Thanks!

Ja Ne!

Ending quotes:

"Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you I had no control over." - Anonymous

"It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel." - Anonymous