Author's Note: Surprise! I, too, did not expect to see a second part. But I saw that The Clawed Butterfly was hoping for a sequel. Therefore, here I am. A big thank you to those who reviewed, added to favorite, and read the first part of the story. I know that the first part was published almost two years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if people have already forgotten about the story, but to those who still remember, I hope you'll enjoy it. Reviews will be appreciated.


Attention, Part 2


Shikamaru didn't remember when he'd become a coward. Okay, never mind. He used to be a shinobi who would do anything he could to run away from a battlefield. So maybe he was a coward since the very beginning. Let's rephrase it. Shikamaru didn't remember when he'd started to avoid eye contact with her. Yeah, her – his teammate who was currently standing inches away from him with her newly acquired hairstyle. Yeah, I am talking about Yamanaka Ino.

In most circumstances, Shikamaru would have greeted and walked away from Ino as quickly as possible. But today, she was difficult not to look at. She was beautiful. He didn't know what reason drove her to cut her hair, which she had cherished since childhood. But Shikamaru was glad that she'd had the courage to change her hairstyle. Maybe it was because a part of him would always be reminded of the reason Ino decided to grow her hair out. Now that her long hair was out of the way, Shikamaru was confident that he could cross Sasuke off the list.

Before he could stop himself, he commented, "…it looks great on you."

"Thank you, Shikamaru." She grinned brightly at the compliment.

Without saying another word, he nodded casually, though his heart was beating miles away. He managed to smile lightly in return and walk away from the duo before his heart could beat any faster. There was no one in the history who'd died from a heart that was beating too fast, and Shikamaru wasn't about to be the one to break the record. He wanted to live an average life and leave no sign of his presence after his death.

When a safe distance stood between them, Shikamaru dared to look over his shoulder and take another glance at his teammate. Even with her back facing him, she looked beautiful. Ino looked beautiful as an owner of her long, blonde hair, but right now, to Shikamaru, she was looking as beautiful as ever. Even though he had intentionally avoided looking at Ino directly for a while now – a long while, actually, he still couldn't forget how mesmerising her eyes were. No matter how hard he tried to forget, he would remember every time he looked at the clear blue sky. He was crazy about her.

But he wasn't about to tell her.

Ino probably didn't care.


It was a little after ten when Shikamaru left the Hokage building. He was tied down by his work again. But he wouldn't really blame anyone but himself. It was his own fault that he kept thinking about her. He was usually very focused in his work but today, he couldn't help but wonder why Ino had decided to cut her hair. He wanted to know, but there wasn't anyone he could ask. Even if there were someone who might have known the reason, he wouldn't dare. He couldn't let anyone know that his mind was on something – someone – else for the whole day.

On his way home, the cold breeze tickled the back of his exposed neck.

"Do you really think so?" A voice exclaimed nearby.

"You are too loud!" Another voice hushed.

Shikamaru sighed. He didn't need to look to know the owners of the two voices. But he did turn around and look, and for a second, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. Naruto and Kiba, obviously, were hiding behind the bush alongside five other guys. Who were the five other guys? Well, Choji, Sai and Lee, these three would usually tag along with Naruto and Kiba just for fun. What about the other two? Well, Neji and Shino. Shikamaru didn't know what was going on with the guys, but there was one thing that he was certain of: they suck at hiding.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Shikamaru! It's about time you decide to join us!"

"What? I am not –" Too late. Before Shikamaru could protest, Kiba had already pulled him into the bush that they were hiding behind. It seemed like they were having a discussion of some sort since the guys were sitting in a big circle. It must have been something big to have attracted Neji and Shino to the group. Now, that's a rare sight. "What the heck is going on here? Why are you guys hiding behind a bush?"

"Come on, Shikamaru! Everyone's here for the same reason."Kiba grinned sheepishly at Shikamaru's ignorance. "You must know since you are one of her best friends. Do you know what happened to Ino's hair, Shikamaru?"

"Uh, she cut it." Shikamaru answered matter-of-factly.

Everyone rolled their eyes and duh-ed out loud.

"Shikamaru-kun, everyone knows Ino-san cut her hair. She was showing it off around town this afternoon. Our question is: do you know why she cut her hair? You must know! You are her best friend!" Lee exclaimed dramatically.

Shikamaru turned away from Lee's big round eyes. First of all, he felt embarrassed to be called Ino's best friend since they hadn't really spoken in weeks. Best friends didn't avoid one another just because… one of them fell in love with the other one. Second of all, he felt ashamed because he, also, didn't know why. He was dying to find out the reason as well, just like the others. So, as her best friend, was it okay for him to confess that he didn't know?

Just when Shikamaru was about to admit his ignorance, Choji interrupted. He didn't know whether he should feel thankful or not for the interruption, but he almost had a heart attack when his childhood friend stated the following, "Shikamaru, do you think Ino might have been dumped?"

"What?" Shikamaru didn't remember Ino being taken.

"Well, according to this book," Sai started suddenly, with his eyes fixed on the book 'Ten Thousand Things You Need to Know about Women'. "Women only make a drastic change to their hairstyle when they have had their heart broken. It says it is because they want to cut off any connection with their previous lover. Women cut their hair to signify a new beginning and a fresh new start. Maybe this is why Ino-san cut her hair."

"Or maybe," Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched when Naruto decided to share his baseless opinion, "Maybe Ino has someone she likes who have the same hairstyle. You know how two people in love tend to look alike in appearance. Ino cut her hair because she wants to look like the person she likes. It must be it!" Naruto's eyes trailed to the person sitting next to him. "In this case, Ino's crush must be…"

Suddenly, Lee became the center of attention.

"What?" Lee blushed furiously, "Ino-san likes me? But I only have–"

"–his eye on Sakura," Neji finished his sentence for him.

"No way! Let's be realistic, guys!" Kiba laughed.

"But it is also possible that Ino-san's taste in men changes over the years." Sai added.

"You can't be serious!" Naruto laughed.

"Maybe Ino–"

"This is absurd!" Before he could stop himself, Shikamaru had caused a scene. Everyone was startled by the genius' sudden uproar. "There's no way Ino will like Lee and there is no way Ino has been dumped! You guys should know better than that! Since when did guys start to invade people's privacy?"

Shikamaru's expression was dark and fierce. It was similar to the face of a person whose lover was killed in a warzone, and who was about to take revenge on the killer. Actually, it wasn't similar. Shikamaru's expression was worse than that. "Ask Ino herself if you are curious. If you are only here to gossip and make assumption, then I am out of here!" Shikamaru stood up from his spot and left the crew.

"What's with him?" They muttered.

Shikamaru didn't know why he was so angry that the boys' assumption. Maybe it was because a part of him was afraid it might be true. He ran to the closest and available barber shop and startled the heck out of the employees as he pushed the door open a little bit too roughly.

"Mister," Shikamaru said to the barber.

"…Yes?" The man stuttered.

"I want a haircut."


Shikamaru finally understood what Ino went through when she cut her hair. The anticipation and nervousness that arose from hearing the ripping sound of the scissors. All the what-ifs as she watched strands of hair falling onto the floor. The doubt she had in herself as she looked into the mirror at her newly acquired hairstyle. Shikamaru finally understood it all.

He peeled his eyes open at the faintest gleam of sunlight that shone through his window. Without wasting another second, he changed into his usual attire: a turtleneck sweater, the flak jacket, and of course, the forehead protector around his arm. Unlike any other day, he double-checked to make sure the forehead protector was securely and tightly pinned to his left sleeve. He couldn't afford to lose it, especially not today.

He proceeded to his desk and opened his drawer to take out his hair tie. Within a split second, he realized that it might not be very useful today. Therefore, he discarded it into the trash can sitting next to the desk. He stormed down the stairs quickly. There was something very urgent that he must do first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, Shikama–" Shikaku looked up from his newspaper and…

"I will be heading out now," the younger Nara of the household closed the door behind him.

Yoshino peeked out the kitchen door and stared at Shikaku's unreadable expression, "What's wrong, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"It's more like I don't know whom I saw…" Shikaku answered.

Shikamaru hated to be the centre of attention. He didn't remember how many pairs of eyes were cast upon him today. He didn't bother counting. Initially, he didn't know why he was attracting so much attention today. But whenever he ran into a mirror, he would be reminded of the reason. He chuckled to himself. Of course. It was inevitable that people would look at him. He looked so… foreign, as if he was a shinobi of another village. If it wasn't for the forehead protector that was on his arm, he might have been taken to the immigration office already.

Shikamaru stopped in front of the door of Laboratory A, where Ino was assigned to work at today. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. A breeze hit his face as soon as he opened the door, and for a second, he thought his heart had stop beating. He was so nervous. But it seemed like he used a little bit too much force when he opened the door. A loud bang startled everyone in the laboratory.

"I am sorry, but I am looking for Ino," Shikamaru said apologetically.

"Ino is… not here right now."

He heaved a sigh of disappointment, "Oh, thank you."

Shikamaru thought of where he should go next since it was too early for him to be at work. He left his house early in hopes of seeing Ino first thing in the morning, but destiny must be toying with him. He bowed to the laboratory associates politely and turned to leave. But as soon as he did, he found himself running into a blonde hair female and knocked over the huge stack of paper that she was carrying. Quickly, both of them got on their knees and started piling up the papers before them. It was after a second or two that Shikamaru realized that it was Ino in front of him. He still hadn't gotten used to her new hairstyle.

Ino looked at him briefly and bowed, "Thank you very much."

When she was about to enter the laboratory, Shikamaru felt an urge to grab her arm and… then what? The girl he wanted to see since he opened his eyes this morning was right there in front of him but yet, he didn't have the courage to even reach out for her. Before he could stop himself, he…

"Ino," He called out for her.

He noticed that Ino's shoulders tensed up immediately at his voice. She turned around and looked at him. Her expression was mixed with a hint of surprise, confusion and uncertainty. Why? Did she not recognize him? Did she not feel impressed with his short hair? Did she not feel happy to see him?

"Shika–" Ino closed the distance between them and looked at him closely, "Shikamaru?"

"Hey," Shikamaru's eyes averted from hers. She was looking at him very closely.

Silence fell upon them for a minute before Ino's giggle broke the silence, "geez, you surprised me,"

Shikamaru also chuckled, "so did you."


A/N: Thank you for reading, everyone!