A/N: This chapter has the first interaction between our favourite general and princess! But…I'm sorry to say it's not really fluffy or romantic. At all. That comes later! Hehe…

Disclaimer: Same old, same old.

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Ino Yamanaka sat in front of her dressing table, carefully watching her maid Sakura Haruno twist her long blonde hair into a style that was fashionable with the high-class ladies. As her maid secured it with an eye-catching silver and golf-leafed needle, Ino frowned.

She did not particularly want to attend this event tonight, as she was feeling slightly off colour and was in a sour mood.
"Haruno-san, what exactly is this dinner in celebration for?"

The pink haired servant simply smiled at her mistress's question. She knew that the princess lacked an interest in many of the palace's events, preferring to simply immerse herself with her own interests, such as learning about the exotic flowers she made her father import for her. Her father always spoiled his only daughter, giving her expensive presents and catering to her every whim.
"It is to celebrate one of the soldier's new promotion. I believe he has been become at Major General."

"Pfft. And why should that matter to me?" The princess said haughtily, sticking her nose into the air.

"Now now, your majesty, you know that as princess you must attend all ceremonies unless your presence is specifically not requested."

"And why on earth would my presence not be sought after?" Ino huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

Sakura silently laughed. Princess Yamanaka was such a character. One moment she wanted to get out of her commitments, the next she was refusing to miss them. It endeared her to the maid. Slipping around the chair, she started to apply the princess's makeup.
"Just think about the new plant you ordered, which is arriving tomorrow. That should get you through the night, highness."

Ino slowly relaxed, before patiently letting Sakura finish her job.
"Very well, Haruno-san. But first, please fetch me my fan. I think that I am unwell, and am feeling very warm."

Hurrying away, the maid hoped that her mistress would not fall ill. That would mean sleepless nights of work, as she worked relentlessly to get the princess back on her feet. It was essential that the princess be healthy, as she was the lone heir to the throne. Someday, the maid knew, she would make a grand Empress. At the moment, however, she was still only a fresh eighteen year old, still inexperienced in the ways of life.

Ino made her way towards the noise and light, holding onto her father's arm. She squirmed uncomfortably in the heavy kimono she was required to wear. Although it was a beautiful garment, it made the cool night air uncomfortably stuffy, and already her feet were hurting in the hard wooden geta shoes she was wearing.

As soon as they entered the grand hall, everyone bowed down. They took their sets at the head of the table, and Ino looked about to see if she knew anyone at the table. Failing to spot anyone, she pursed her lips in annoyance. The night was certainly looking like a long uneventful one.

Looking towards her father, she found him deep in conversation with a young soldier dressed in gleaming armour. She assumed that this man was the one receiving the promotion. He had tanned skin, and wild-looking dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. A seemingly permanent frown was etched into his forehead, and she wondered whether he was always in a foul mood. She was however, surprised to see that such a young soldier had already been promoted to Major General. He barely looked a day older than 25 years old.
'He must be a terrific fighter.' She concluded, before being distracted by the arriving food.

After the dessert had all been consumed, her father stood up, and the conversation died down. When all was quiet, he started talking.

"Thank you all for coming to this celebration of achievement. It is my great pleasure to announce that of today, Nara Shikamaru of the Imperial Japanese Army is now a Major General. After much discussion, I and my subordinates," he said, nodding towards the three men sitting further down the table, rewarded with respectful bows, "have deemed that Shikamaru-san is worthy of this great honour. We came to this conclusion because of his many attributes."

Ino's gaze flickered across to the said general, who to her surprise looked rather bored and awkward. 'Interesting.' She thought to herself, before returning her attention to her father.

"…has not reached this position of honour not by strength alone, but because of his amazing skill in strategy. He is one of the most brilliant minds in the army. A specialist in tactics, he has led the men under his command to many glorious victories, none more so than his most recent one at Kumamoto. He led the army to an amazing victory over the 30 000 samurai who were rioting, under the command of Saigo Takamori."

Ino joined in the clapping belatedly. 30 000 men?! She could not even comprehend that many men dying during just one battle. It was completely horrifying.

"He is also one of the youngest men ever to reach this position in the Imperial Japanese Army, for he is only 23 years old."

'Younger than I thought.' Ino bemusedly thought, her gaze flickering to him yet again.

The General was slouching in his chair, bowing his head respectfully at the praise heaped upon him. Yet his posture gave away a sense of boredom that was unmistakable. Ino frowned with disapproval at the Major General's behavior. Surely he should at least try to act more politely at his own celebratory dinner.

Suddenly the man looked up to meet her gaze. Dropping her gaze quickly, Ino busied herself with rearranging her kimono, while flushing with embarrassment at being caught staring. When she no longer felt his eyes on her, she dared to look up again.

He had turned his head away, so most of it was hidden in the shadows. Stifling a yawn, she pretended to listen to her father's speech, while absentmindedly toying with a loose strand of hair, before being interrupted by a meaningful cough.

Snapping to attention, she realized that the speech was over, and the man beside her had started up a conversation with her. Quickly letting go of her hair, she scolded herself for slipping up.

"I'm very sorry sir. I'm afraid I am not feeling very well tonight."

Standing up slowly, she made her way out through the open doorways back into the relative darkness of the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight, she let out a pent up breath, fluffing up her fringe in the process. Smoothing it down distractedly, she hurried through the hallways, ducking through one of the servants' exits into the cooler night air.

Sighing with happiness, she took off her geta shoes. Although she would never admit it, she often wished that she didn't always have to appear wonderfully composed. She envied the commoners, their ability to laugh when they were amused, to yell when they were angry, to cry when they were sad.

The trouble was, she had no one to confide in, to tell all her secrets to, and because of this Ino had become secluded, tucking herself away in her private gardens where she could unwind.

Rolling her shoulders, she made her way through the beautiful Japanese maples, to the pond with the stone bench beside it. As she sat down she pulled out her silk fan, fanning herself vigorously to cool down. She lost track of time as she sat there, watching the water run down the rock fountain, only to be interrupted by a disturbance in the vegetation near her.

Jolting upright, she pulled out the needle in her hair, took on what she hoped to be an aggressive stance, and prepared herself for the worst. The noise coming from the bushes was peculiar, like something was trying to crawl through the pebbles.
She furrowed her brow, trying to imagine what animal could make that noise. The next thing she knew, a large dark shape erupted into the glade, frightening her into an almighty scream, and before she even knew what she was doing, she had leapt forward and stabbed the needle into the thing.

Shikamaru was either going to die from overheating or boredom, and he didn't know which one he preferred. His newly cleaned armour was literally a furnace, and he was trapped in a room full of old fogies and politicians, plus one very unhappy looking princess.

As the emperor prattled on, extolling Shikamaru's apparently never-ending list of virtues, he quickly started to drift off. It was a gift of his, his ability to fall asleep whenever and wherever he pleased. Just as he was floating off into dreamland, he sensed he was being watched. Looking up blearily, he was confronted by a pair of stunningly blue eyes. Sufficiently unnerved, he saw the princess look away quickly. Lifting a corner of his mouth in humor, he ran his eyes over her, from her ash blonde hair to her overly decorated kimono.

Loosing interest, he faced the shadows again, trying to ignore the fact he was being cooked alive. For another three minutes the Emperor continued, before sitting down again. Shikamaru decided he should probably return to the conversation, turning his face back towards the table. Upon finding his company was not sought after at the moment, he glanced over to the grumpy princess. To his amusement, she was twirling her hair in a most unsophisticated way, while blankly staring at the table. Just as he was going to return to the shadows, the emperor struck up another conversation with him, to his slight annoyance. As he made pointless small talk, he saw her rise and quietly slip away.
'Lucky.'
He thought enviously, while continuing to appease the Emperor with constant nods and mutters. This continued for a while, until the tea was served. Noticing the princess's spot was still empty; he briefly wondered whether she was intending to return to the table.
After contemplating his tea, he decided against it for the fact that he didn't need any extra warming up, and excused himself before anyone could stop him. Exiting through the same door as the princess, he hoped that she had aimed her wandering for the outside, so that he could follow her example.

Scowling and tugging on his collar, he found himself in a junction, with no sense of which hall to take. Spotting a servant slip through a small partially concealed door, he called out, intending to ask for directions. To his surprise, the doorway actually led onto a narrow veranda, eliminating his need of the servant. Stepping into the night air, he skirted a statue and sat down behind it.

Leaning back, he looked at the stars, and the faintest trace of clouds that covered them. He sat there for a while, letting his thoughts drift, when he heard two familiar voices. Cursing his armour for its awkwardness, he got to his knees, and looked around for a conveniently placed hiding spot. Needless to say, he didnot want to be caught skipping his own dinner by the Lieutenant Generals.
Spotting his escape route, he lightly jogged over to a thick grove of maples, pushing through the branches, before tripping on a root and crashing to the ground in a noisy pile of metal.

'Mendokuse…' he whined, stopping his movements and waiting for his imminent discovery. Failing to hear any voices however, he thanked his good luck, and started to wriggle backwards.

"Dammit, what now?" he muttered, finding his path blocked. After kicking feebly at the surrounding branches and bushes, he gave up and scraped his way forward, aiming for the sound of running water. Finding the branches thinning around him, Shikamaru gave himself one last push, before tumbling out into a small clearing.
Before he had a chance to blink however, a piercing scream ripped through the air, and next thing he knew, a pair of feet landed in front of him, accompanied by a clang! as someone tried to stab something into the back of his armour.

Instincts taking over, he twisted and reached out, roughly gripping his attacker's arm, before pulling them down and securing both their hands behind their back, roughly pinning them against his chest. Although it wasn't his best defensive attack, it was the best he could do due to the fact he was still half-lying in the bushes. He ripped his legs from the damned bushes, jumped up and pulled out a kunai, pressing the flat of it against their throat.

"Who the hell are you?" he commanded. When he received a frightened squeak in response, he pushed his kunai more firmly into their flesh. "Answer me!"

"Please…" he stopped, hearing the tear-choked voice. With a sinking feeling, he stepped back into the moonlight, pulling his prisoner with him. When the pale light illuminated who it was, his eyes widened in shock.Dropping his kunai, he immediately released…her.

"Princess Ino." He whispered in a horrified voice. 'Oh crap.' He thought, 'I'm in trouble now.'

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A/N: Well well well, seems like I've actually finished another chapter. Amazing, no? I'm determined to finish this fanfic, no matter what. No matter how long, no matter how hard. I CANNOT let this one die. I've spend waaay too much time on it for that! Don't forget that a few reviews here and there can really release that writers block, should it occur gasphorror.

Till next time,

Tan-chan