Title: Message in a Scroll

Pairing: ShikaIno (established relationship)

Summary: Shikamaru is hurt badly, but refuses to let Ino into the room to see him. At least, not under the current circumstances…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Ino's breath hitched in her throat for what seemed like the hundredth time as she pushed herself to sprint down the streets of Konoha. All the while, her mind raced, conjuring all kinds of panic-induced images that only caused her adrenaline to increase with every passing second. The tears that filled her eyes were completely ignored as she pivoted around an elderly couple in the middle of the street, continuing her trek to the hospital with desperate strides. Her heart raced faster as she closed in on her destination, her pulse the only sound in her ears as she raced inside the building, not even stopping at the check-in station. The outraged cries from the medic at the front desk didn't even register to her as she turned down a hallway, frantically searching for any familiar chakra signature that would lead her to the room that Shikamaru was currently in.

Coming to a stairwell, she stopped for the first time since leaving the Hokage's office and brought a hand to her chest, willing her breathing to steady itself. Her body began to shake as the adrenaline began to subside, and she had to grab onto the railing in front of her to keep herself on her feet. Heart rate slowing, she steadied herself and concentrated what little energy she had left on locating Choji's chakra signature. If she knew anything about her teammate and the bond the two boys shared, she was positive that he would be right by the shadow user's side. Relying on that knowledge, she walked up the stairs briskly until she reached the floor where she suspected Shikamaru might be held.

According to Lady Tsunade, Shikamaru was in critical condition and lucky to be alive. Ino shivered at the memory, remembering the cold, desolate feeling that washed over her at hearing those words. Naively, Shikamaru being hurt was not something she thought was possible. He was always so strong, so cunning, and so prepared for everything. How could it have happened? And more importantly to Ino, why did it have to happen when she wasn't around to protect him?

Placing her palm against her forehead, she willed the negative thoughts to disappear, instead focusing on sensing the presence of her comrade. As soon as she sensed him she immediately forced her legs to move, gaining speed with every step as her determination to see Shikamaru grew the closer she got to her destination. Turning the corner, she saw Choji walking out of a room at the end of the hallway and continued running until she was only a few feet away from the boy. Choji watched her as she approached with a look that radiated worry, but Ino ignored him with the same alacrity as she ignored the protests of her own aching body, instead focusing her attention on the door that she knew Shikamaru was being held in.

"Choji, is he awake?" Her voice was hoarse from running full speed to the hospital.

Waiting for his answer- though knowing the outcome would be the same regardless- she walked toward the room with the intention of opening the door.

"He is, but don't go in there, Ino." Choji warned, and wrapped a hand around her wrist to pull her away from where she stood.

Her confusion quickly turned to anger as she viciously pulled her arm out of his grasp and stared at him in disbelief.

"You just came out of there, and you said he's awake. Now I'm going in there to see him." She tried to keep her voice level, but her emotions were running wild, and all that seemed to register in her mind was that someone was trying to stand in the way of her seeing Shikamaru.

Choji cast his eyes down briefly in guilt and fidgeted with something in his pants pocket before looking at her again.

"Please, Ino." His eyes pleaded, begging her to understand. This wasn't easy for him to say, and though he was put in an almost impossible situation, it was not one that he was not in agreement with. "I was told that you shouldn't go in there."

Ino shook her head, her already messy ponytail almost coming undone, and gave the Akimichi a glare that he was sure carried every ounce of hurt and anger she possessed. This time, she refused to lower her voice.

"And why would you be told that?" She moved closer to him, causing Choji to take a fearful step backwards. "Who would even tell you something like that? If you can go in, then so can I. Shikamaru is hurt badly; he needs me! I'm going to see him, and I'd like to see somebody try to stop me!"

"That's enough, Ino." A voice called from inside the room, causing Ino to pause. Unconsciously taking a step away from her clearly frightened teammate, Ino walked toward the door again, this time making no move to enter.

"Shika…"

She breathed his name against the door, not caring whether the shadow nin heard her or not. Hearing his voice, and therefore having the confirmation that he was alive, was enough for her previous anger to vanish and be replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief. Words couldn't describe how it felt to hear his voice, especially when her worse fear was that she may never hear it again.

Unbeknownst to her, Shikamaru had heard her say his name, and it was enough for a genuine smile to briefly grace his lips. A chuckle escaped as he thought of the blonde. She was a complete enigma to him. How she could yell at Choji one minute and breathe his name in contentment the next amazed him, yet he knew in his heart he couldn't blame her. The situation was serious, and he knew he would be just as on-edge as Ino seemed, if not more so if she were in the same position. Just the thought of her injured drew Shikamaru from his thoughts, and the frown that had been on his face since Ino arrived was now back.

Back in the hallway, Ino let out one last sigh before lifting her forehead from the door and moving her hand toward the handle again. When Choji once again restrained her arm, Shikamaru chose that time to speak again.

"I told him not to let you come in here."

"But, why…?" Ino wondered aloud to herself before her voice steeled. "Is this some kind of joke?" She whirled her head around to glare at Choji, who released her arm and shook his head with a conflicted look on his face.

"This isn't a joke. You shouldn't be here right now."

His tone was strong and serious, and that alone was the only reason Ino listened to his words. Out of all of the different emotions running through her, the feeling of rejection was among the most prominent. Why didn't he want her there? Did he truly not want to see her at all? Had she done something to make him angry?

Shikamaru's voice snapped her out of her thoughts as he spoke again, this time in a gentler tone.

"Go home, Ino."

Hearing those words, every insecurity that ran through Ino's mind about the situation came crashing down on her at once. Her breathing becoming shallow, she stepped away from the door and turned her back to both it and Choji as she attempted to compose herself. Normally she wouldn't be feeling as self-conscious as she was. Had she been at full strength, she would have yanked open the door, regardless of what Shikamaru said, and she would have stayed and taken care of him until the hospital forced her to leave, and even then she probably would have sneaked back in later in the night. But she wasn't at full strength; she was exhausted and had just suffered one of the biggest scares of her life, and hearing Shikamaru tell her that she shouldn't be there was enough to make her crumble.

Pushing back the urge to cry, she turned to glance at Choji and gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Fine. If you don't want me here, I'm going." Was all she could manage to say before turning on her heel and walking away, conjuring her remaining energy to get her as far away as she could.

She was halfway to the staircase when she heard footsteps come up behind her.

"Ino." She stopped walking, but refused to turn around to face Choji, afraid that she would either breakdown or pass out. Luckily, he never asked her to. Hearing what sounded like him rustling through his pocket, he wordlessly held a scroll over her shoulder so it was eye level with her. After taking it from him, he allowed his hand to squeeze her shoulder before she heard his footsteps disappear back to the end of the hall.

She looked down at the official looking scroll and narrowed her eyes at it before stuffing it halfway into her weapon's pouch on her hip. She didn't know what it was about, and part of her didn't care to find out. All she wanted to do was to get out of that hospital and go home. She would worry about Shikamaru and the stupid scroll when she got there.

Well, that was chapter 1! This story will probably end up being 2-3 chapters long. Please review and let me know what you think!