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Fallen
Dedicated to my shikaino readers right now x), and is written as a contest entry in (specifically the shikaino community).
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"And can you believe what she said after that?" Yamanaka Ino asked, her cool blue eyes blazing with anger, her hands waving around her, making gestures. Remembering what Haruno Sakura said after her first date with Uchiha Sasuke, she couldn't help but get a little pissed. She sprung to a branch, then to another and then stopped for a while, looking backwards to her only companion for this mission. "Shika, what do you say?"
"Don't call me that." Nara Shikamaru heaved a grumpy sigh, slowing down for a moment. He disliked hearing her call him 'Shika' -- come on, he was ungraceful enough as it was -- should she rub it in? "And don't stop. We better get back to Konoha before 8 PM." That said, he launched himself to another branch, and started off going his average speed, passing her.
She shook her head, smiled forcibly at his back for a split second, and then started traveling again, following after him. They were sent on a mission to escort the Raikage's daughter back to their hidden village, and having escorted the spoiled princess back to her place, now they were on their way back to Konoha. Usually, escorting would have taken either three or even four men in a team, depending on how important the person they escorted was, but this one mission was an exception.
Chouji was doing a personal mission with his father, so he couldn't possibly come, and the dear Rokudaime had also agreed that they will go in the form of a two men team. "It was okay," The blonde whiskered proud leader of the Ho country said, "Our relations with the other hidden villages are quite good nowadays. The chance of being ambushed or infiltrated is possibly less than ten percent." Shikamaru, being one of the most trusted people in the area, had also agreed to that, though half-heartedly. And if the lazy genius said so, then so it was.
Shikamaru glanced at the trees in front of him. He couldn't see a light at all, meaning that they were still deep, deep inside the forest. The least time it would take for them to get back to Konoha should be around six hours, if he wasn't mistaken, and that was if they were strong enough to travel non-stop. That wouldn't be possible -- they hadn't rested since three hours ago and it was already six PM! The sun had not set yet, but it will, soon enough -- it had shown signs.
He glanced back at Ino, who looked like she was having the time of her life, seeing that her face had this dreamy look that usually appeared when she felt high. She wasn't even watching where she was placing her feet onto, springing lightly like she weighted like a feather, and Shikamaru knew that she didn't. Nonetheless, he couldn't help feeling a little grumpy at her actions -- Didn't she know that it was dangerous?
He watched in distaste, gritting his teeth. He pondered on whether they should stop for a while to eat lunch as well, since he knew Ino got hungry pretty quickly, and they didn't eat much this morning too. If that was right, she should have been starving this very second. Jeez, that girl -- she could fall if she didn't watch her foot. He opened his mouth, "In-"
Crack, below him, the branch cracked, and then it broke.
Boom!
"Shika!" Ino stopped right that second on another branch, glancing downwards to where her companion had fallen. "Are you okay?"
--
Ino stood steadily, her blue eyes wild, her lips pressed onto a very, very thin line as if to contain laughter, her cheeks red. In front of her, sat a very pissed off Shikamaru, his eyebrows knitted together and his lips also pressed onto a very, very thin line -- for a different reason than Ino's. He was bruised here and there, must be from the fall.
"Ino." His voice was stern, and kept hard as he looked at her steadily.
The blue-eyed kunoichi smirked as she glanced away to avert his gaze.
"Ino." His voice came harsher than before, stern and forcing, yet pained that she didn't know how to react. "Ino, please -- Don't... laugh. Troublesome."
At that, Ino couldn't hold her laughter another second anymore. She burst out laughing, so hard that her eyes watered and her insides hurt so much that she had to cower down to her knees.
Shikamaru looked at her, feeling more and more pissed than ever. He waited until her laughter subsided, then grumbled, "Nothing is funny." He growled a little, saying his 'catchy' phrase, "Troublesome."
Ino smiled automatically. "I can't help it." She said giddily, "It's just too funny. I mean, before this, you were always the most careful one. Never thought that I will be mistaken by a branch."
"I was distracted." He said gruffly, his hands touching his bruises. Ouch. He winced, but then continued, "It wasn't my fault."
"So whose it is?" She asked back, kneeling down in front of him, giving him another smile that could mean 'you-know-I'm-right'. "The branch's?"
He looked at her, sighing tiredly. "Ino..." He moaned, pained.
"Okay, okay." She smiled apologetically, batting her eyelashes in process, "You were distracted, weren't you? You were going to say something. Now speak up, please."
"It's too troublesome." Shikamaru replied, scratching the back of his head. "Just please be more careful next time. You weren't paying attention to your feet. It's dangerous to do that, you know."
"You're one to talk." Ino shot back, "Sorry. Forgive me?" A smile curled on her full lips, making them looked a little tastier.
Shikamaru had always disliked this smile of her -- no, it wasn't ugly, it wasn't giddy, it wasn't stupid, but it distracted him to no end. It was this too-perfect-to-be-true kind of smile, which Shikamaru knew a genius like him could never resist. It was just too perfect, since it made even 'the boar' looked very pretty and sweet, but he didn't like it because the way she smiled made his insides fluttered. Hard.
He didn't look away from her, he just grumbled something low that Ino couldn't figure out, but she knew that he wouldn't stay angry at her. Smiling, she grabbed her medical kit and turned at him, kneeling down in front of him again. "So, which part hurts?" She asked, grabbing a kunai and tearing off a sack which kept a can of ointment.
"None." Shikamaru replied, cross. He tried to stand up, but found his right knee so painful that he couldn't move them. He must have fallen from a very high place, seeing that his bruises were pretty hard. He grimaced as she held up her hand to test his shoulder, and then his arms and his knees.
Ino glanced at him, worried as she realized that he winced and grimaced every time her fingers touched him. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"It doesn't hurt at all." He told her, trying to free himself from her hands. He disliked the worried look on her face -- even more when he was the cause of that. Shikamaru knew worry. It wasn't a good feeling -- it crunched up your insides and made you feel so anxious that you could have died.
"Don't lie." She said softly. She raised her hands and pinched his shoulders lightly, and he sent out a low howl. Ino sighed, and then smiled, "We are going to find the nearest village and stay the night there." She told him quietly, and when he opened his mouth to protest, she snapped, "No buts, genius. You're badly injured and we're not taking any risks to travel at this rate. Understood?"
Shikamaru felt a sweat formed on his brow as she took out a can of ointment and glanced at him with wild eyes. Obviously, she was going to 'take care' of his bruises, and knowing Ino, tending to injuries was never included in her area of expertise. She was just never good in medic.
He couldn't help himself letting out a little whine as Ino scooted closer to him, dabbing the ointment with her fingers. She grinned evilly, and thrust forward with her fingers, determination clear in her eyes. "Ehehe..."
Oh, no.
--
The night was already dark when they arrived in an inn. The moon was high in the sky, yellowish with a hint of silver, yet so pale that you could barely check the colors.
"Are you two a couple?" A woman in her mid forties asked, her voice high pitched as her red cheeks reddened in happiness. She had received the minimum amount of costumers for the inn she managed in the few last months. People just didn't come into the village that much, and when they did, they didn't go to her place. They simply went to places with greater qualities. However, this bored-looking man and the blond-haired woman in front of her was just so kind that they chose her place to stay that night.
"Couple?" Shikamaru grimaced, as if he had never heard of the word before. True, he was practically embracing Ino's shoulders, but that was because he couldn't stand if he wasn't supported. True, they had no gap between them, but again, it was for the same reason. Yes, Ino had practically fell silent when she let him embrace her shoulders, but maybe she was just not feeling like speaking. And yes, he himself had also felt something very nice -- no, scratch that -- weird when he held her so closely, but...
He had no excuses for that, but he knew for sure that they weren't couples.
"Why?" Being the clever one, the lazy genius asked.
The woman smiled giddily. "Just asking."
Suddenly, Ino piped up. "Yes, we are." She said quietly, surprising Shikamaru. She glanced at him meaningfully, but he didn't quite get it. However, he was supposed to be the genius, so he didn't say anything and nodded peacefully, embracing her a little more tighter than he would have if he was in his normal state of mind. However, he was injured -- so maybe his brain was damaged as well. She smiled at the woman and repeated her answer, firmly this time, "Yes, we are a couple. Can you... give us one room for the night, please?"
"Okay." The woman replied, "Please call me Mizuki-san, dears. One room for the night will be thirty ryous."
Quietly, Shikamaru reached up for the money in his pocket with great difficulty and placed the amount on the counter.
"Room 12 is yours. It's just around the corner here, through the corridor." Mizuki went to the counter and snatched up a key, and also a bar of chocolate, then gave them to Ino, smiling, "Happy Valentine's day, dears. Just a little gift from the inn... Enjoy your stay!"
"Thank you." The blond-haired kunoichi smiled. She heaved a sigh to help her gain back energy, and then helped Shikamaru through the corridor, to the room they will be sleeping in for the night. They were quite lucky to find a village not far away from the place Shikamaru fell, though it wasn't a big village -- it was just a small, nameless village that had very little population as well. It was a good thing that they found a small inn just around the edges of the village, and it wasn't too expensive either.
They arrived in front of a door with a very old paper nailed to it, the number '12' on it. Ino inserted the key and pushed the door open. She helped Shikamaru to plop down to the bed (which, by the way, was a single bed. A single bed! How were they going to sleep on it later on? Ah well. Later's problem was supposed to be dealt later anyways), and then examined the room. Everything was dusty, which meant that the room hadn't been used for quite a long time.
"Why did you say that?" Shikamaru suddenly asked, surprising Ino.
"Say what?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows together. She did not quite get what he asked.
"That we are a couple."
Ino blushed prettily hearing the last word. She cursed herself inwardly for blushing just so, because of one question from her childhood friend, but then regained her self-composure. "... Couples get a fifty percent discount. If we weren't a couple, I guess we would have paid double the amount." She shuddered, and then plopped down next to him, and gave him that alluring smile he hated, "It doesn't matter, does it?"
Shikamaru shrugged, closing his eyes for a moment. He did not want to look in those eyes of her -- they were sometimes so blue, so deep, so... beautiful, that he wasn't sure if the owner of those meaningful eyes was a loud, obnoxious blonde. Even she was maybe the most special woman in her life, apart from his mother, that is.
"Shika," Ino started, breaking into his train of thoughts. "Lay down." She sent him a glance and helped him onto bed carefully, just like treating a baby of some sort. She tucked out the sheets of the bed and put a blanket over him, and then sat on the side of the bed, turning to him, a mischievous grin on her face, "Do you want me to sing a song for you?" The lazy genius looked at her as if she was crazy, and Ino gave another sweet smile. "Do you want me to?" She asked once more time, shifting the blanket to make him more comfortable.
He looked at her, and she smiled again. Without waiting for his answer, she parted her lips and let out a soft tune. She sang -- it was a wordless song, but its tunes were so deep, so transparant and so... mysterious that he couldn't help wondering where she learnt the song.
Shikamaru was startled. He was being treated like a little boy -- and Ino was acting like his mother... Or maybe a loving, gentle wife of his. He gulped at the thought and cursed inwardly that he got his mind on that. Ino -- a gentle wife? Of course not. She wasn't even gentle. And of his? Since when? Ino was always infatuated or in love with the Uchiha Sasuke. He was never in her eyes, he was never one she really saw.
"Ino?" He asked, causing her to stop singing, "Are you still in love with Sasuke?"
This time, the blond-haired kunoichi was the one who got startled. She stared at Shikamaru for a few seconds. "... Why do you ask?" She questioned, shifting her knees that she was sitting on the bed right now, Shikamaru tucked in beside her.
"Heh." He smirked, "I know I shouldn't have asked. It's too troublesome anyways."
Ino looked at him, face indifferent, but then softly, she asked, "What are you thinking about, Shika?"
"... Nothing." He said, equally soft. He looked at her, and all of a sudden, he felt really nice. It was like, seeing her, and he would believe that everything will be all right. Seeing her, and all of his problems will be gone. Seeing her, and all the bruises over his body will not hurt -- not even a little bit.
Seeing her was happiness.
"No, it's not nothing." She shot back instantly, "You didn't usually just shoot questions to me, Shika, and not about Sasuke. Since when do you care?"
Shikamaru looked at her plainly, brown eyes meeting blue ones, calm met wild. He forced himself to sit beside her rather than lay, and then gazed at her fondly. "I've always cared, Ino." He replied softly, "I have always looked out for you."
"You didn't, did you?" Ino's voice was accusing, in a way that Shikamaru wouldn't have figured out if he wasn't a genius. She continued before he could give out any retorts, "You weren't there when I need someone to help. You weren't there when I was scared to death. You were never there when I... when I need you."
It hurts, Shikamaru realized. It hurt so much to hear her telling him all this. He coughed a little, and then remarked, "You never need me, Ino." He said quietly, though he couldn't help but feeling very pained as he said so, "It's always 'Sasuke-kun' you need."
"No, it's not true!" She found herself frantic, her insides crunched. "... Sasuke was whom I liked."
"Was?"
"Was." The kunoichi confirmed. "Because when Sakura started going out with him, I chose to back out." She took a deep breath, and then continued bitterly, "I'm not a fool, you know."
"What?" Surprise caught his eyes.
She coughed. "I'm not a fool." She repeated wearily, "Look, I may play the fool at times... But you see, I'm a little more than just a pretty blonde with an ass that won't quit." A wicked, confident smile appeared on her lips at the last part of her sentence. It was the smile she smiled whenever she was feeling pretty good about herself, a smile which secretly also told and convinced her that she was just as worthy as everyone else.
"I never said you were." Shikamaru retorted. "And I never thought you were too, Ino. You are just as good as everyone else -- and you mean a lot more to me than anyone else will ever be."
She silenced at once, surprise shown in her cool blue eyes.
"I know that you don't think about me the same way that I think about you, Ino." He said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers even for a second. A bitter smile played on his lips as he continued, "And I never really believed that you would or that you could, either."
"... What?" Her voice came out, barely as a whisper.
"But..." Shikamaru's face remained indifferent, but knowing him, she realized that he was very pained, and it wasn't because of his bruises. "Just pretending for today somehow made me feel good." He heaved a heavy sigh, "I love you."
She remembered the shocked expression on his face when she told Mizuki-san that they were a couple, and felt her throat tightened.
"Ino?"
"Shika..." Blue eyes met brown again for the nth time that day, "I never knew..."
He smiled bitterly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Her eyes brightened, and she gazed at him again, longingly this time. Her hands reached into the blankets, and as her fingers found his, they entwined around each other. She smiled at him with the very same smile that made his insides fluttered, "I told you that Sasuke was the one I liked, right?" She asked, squeezing his hand warmly. "Shika?"
Shikamaru looked at her, confused. "What?"
"I love you too."
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End Notes
Please review! Always nice to receive feedback from my readers. I know it's not my best work yet again, but… I've tried, really, but it seems that I have lost my muse for fanfiction. Somehow, I'm going to find it for sure )