Hello readers! Thank you for taking your time to read this. Hope you're enjoying so far. I just wanted to mention that in the previous chapter I forgot to add my disclaimer. So... I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! okay there :) (Naruto I hope you enjoy this)

Chapter two * The Break Up

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Ino stared up at her former sensei in awe. What an amazing coincidence that she had literally just been thinking about the man, and all of a sudden she runs into him on the street as she headed home. He hadn't seemed to have aged at all since the last time she'd seen him, which had been over 4 years now. He still donned the thick brown facial hair, kept his hair spiked and slightly swept back, and apparently he still smoked too judging by the ciggarette that hung out of his mouth. She smiled shyly up at him and took the hand that he had so kindly extended down to her and with a simple swift motion, the man had her to her feet in no time. He gave her a quick grin and released her hand.

'When did he get so handsome?' She found herself thinking as she studied his rugged features. 'Ino! Behave yourself!' She thought, paling a little at her own thoughts.

"You okay?" He asked a little concerned. 'I feel like I've seen this girl before.' Asuma thought to himself, as he examined the young blonde before him.

"Oh!" Ino began, after being broken from her train of thought. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that, Sensei." She said out of habbit. She saw the expression in his face change as soon as she had spoken that last word. 'Maybe he didn't recognize me.' She thought with a small smile.

"Aha." He said with a smile of his own. "Now I remember you, it's Yamanaka, right? Ino?" Asuma asked curiously.

Ino watched him as he spoke her name. The way he pursed his lips, and the way his brown eyes seemed to be sparking in the sun. At this point she was sure she was just dehydrated from her intense rehearsal not but a few minutes ago. "Yep, that's me! Surprised you remember me, Sensei." She said, placing her hands on her hips.

'Well hasn't she grown up nicely?' Asuma thought to himself as he studied his former pupil. She was quite the catch. Long blonde hair, womanly curves (Not that he had noticed, or would admit that he noticed) and she seemed to have gotten a bit taller as well. "Is that a referral to my age, Ino?" Asuma retorted with a light chuckle.

"Well it could be." She smirked. She knew the old pervert was checking her out, it was more than obvious, but the strange thing was, it didn't bother her that he was checking her out, it actually...excited her a little. She knew she needed to be careful not to cross any lines right now, after all, she was still dating Shikamaru, happily or not, they were still together and she needed to be fair. However, that wasn't going to stop her from extracting any information about the man. "So where you headed?" She asked bluntly, still trying to maintain a bit of innocence in the question.

"Well I'm on my way to get coffee." He answered simply as he gestured to the nearby coffee shop, Konoha Bean. He then smiled at the girl, a little curious as to why she had asked him.

"This late in the afternoon?" Ino asked, a bit confused. It was nearing the five o clock hour, and coffee just didn't seem like a good idea this late in the day.

"Well I've got a stack of papers I need to grade tonight so I'm going to need as much help as I can get. You know, us old people don't have as much as you young kids." He said, jokingly.

'Did he just call me a kid?' Ino internally rolled her eyes. Maybe the crazy idea that her former sensei might actually like her a little was a little too crazy. Maybe she should just drop it, but for some reason she just didn't want to. "Well coffee does have benefits for old people like yourself, studies show that coffee drinkers are less likely to get Alzheimer's." She said, this time poking at him.

Asuma was a little taken back, but he smiled. He liked her sense of humor and it was refreshing to him. "Oh that's good to know! I'll have to stop by here more often then." 'She's pretty cute.' He thought to himself as he watched her speak. 'Dammit don't be a pervert, Asuma.' He scolded himself.

Ino gave him a sweet smile, she knew she was extremely close to crossing that line, it was time to wrap up the conversation before it got out of hand. "Good. Well Sensei, it was really nice seeing you, I'd better get going." She said with kindly, although the moment was bitter sweet for her.

Asuma frowned slightly before giving her a swift nod. "Good to see you too Ino." He replied, after which she turned and began to walk away. "Hey!" He said calling after her.

Ino blushed a bit and turned back around. "Yes?" She asked curiously.

"You really don't have to call me Sensei. Asuma is okay now." He said with a light chuckle.

Ino smiled brightly. "Okay...Asuma." She said before turning and walking away once more.

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Ino had showered and changed into some simple lounge wear after arriving home. She just couldn't seem to shake the feeling she got when she was around Asuma. Sure she knew it was weird, and probably a bit wrong, but how could she explain it? The fact that she had just remembered the advice he had given her when she was a 16 year old girl, and not even a minute later, she saw him. Maybe she just needed to give Shikamaru another chance, it wasn't like he was bad all the time. When things were good, they were really good. But when they were bad, well they were really bad. She let out a sigh and walked herself to the kitchen.

"Guess it's time to put some dinner on." She said with a major lack of enthusiasm. She was going to make a simple meal tonight, nothing elaborate, but enough to please Shikamaru, hell he would eat anything anyway. She did appreciate that about him. As she chopped up a few veggies, her mind wandered more and more. 'I wonder if Asuma is even single, I doubt it, I mean look at him. No stop it! Ugh... But he's.. no... Shikamaru is nice... But... But there's something so intriguing about Asuma... Asuma.' She thought with a smile as she threw the peppers and onions into a pan to saute. Just as she did, her front door swung open and Shikamaru walked in, closing the door behind him.

"I'm home." He mumbled before sinking himself onto the couch. Ino hated that he no longer came into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she cooked. He no longer greeted her with a kiss, or a 'Hi babe, I'm home how was your day?' Nothing. It began to wear on her like the ocean wears on the rocks over time, they seem to disappear.

Regardless of her mixed emotions, she was determined to try. They'd been together so long, she was really unsure how life would be without him. "How was your day?" She asked kindly as she began to add chicken to her vegetables.

Shikamaru replied with a grunt, and soon after she could hear the TV, he seemed to be watching the news.

Ino shook her head and sighed. 'There's gotta be something I can do.' She thought to herself. Ino turned the burner on low and walked herself to the living room where Shikamaru was seated, crossing her arms she stood in front of him and gave him a seductive smile.

"Would you get out of the way? I can't see the TV." He said, annoyed.

Ino was now annoyed herself. "Why do you wanna watch that when you have me right here? It's like you don't care anymore!" She exclaimed.

"Ino, seriously. You're in the way." He said moving his head trying to get a better view of the television.

"Screw the damn TV! Don't you care about me anymore? About us? Or is that stupid box more important?" She asked.

"Aren't you cooking dinner, Ino?" He asked, finally looking at her. Her face was red with anger, and he could see the frustration all over her.

"Is it too much to ask that you at least kiss me, say hello? Ask me how my damn day was? Touch me or show me any affection at all?!" She yelled.

"Is it too much to ask for a guy to relax once in a while? God I just got home!" He yelled back.

"It's funny how your needs are so damn important! But when it comes to me, you don't give a shit!"

Shikamaru sighed and looked at the fuming blonde before him. Maybe she was right, maybe he did't really give a shit. He had stopped caring a while back, maybe he was just now realizing it. "You're right. I don't give a shit." He said, rolling his eyes. "Now can you fuckin move please." He said bitterly.

That was the last straw. Ino looked at him angrily. "I'm done. I'm done! I'm getting my things and I'm getting out of here." She said storming off to pack her things.

End Chapter Two