CH3

Thud! Ino hit the ground hard. The punch Sakura had thrown had been infused with chakra, one of her specialties. She recovered fast running at Sakura full speed pulling her fist back for a punch. Sakura saw this and got in a stance so it would be easier to duck. Sakura wasn't as fast to avoid the kick that Ino landed on her side sending her to the ground. Sakura hopped back up and threw a chakra infused punch for Ino's face. Ino bent back avoiding it and did a round off back handspring into a standing position. This time Sakura came running and Ino jumped out of her way landing a punch in her stomach sending her into the nearest tree. Sakura slide down the tree and sat on the ground

"Sorry a little to much power in that one." Ino said running to Sakura's side.

"Nothing a little ice can't fix." Sakura said grimacing.

Ino lowered herself to the ground and sat next to Sakura and looked up threw the canopy at the sky above. The perfect day to watch clouds she thought to herself.

"What are you thinking about Ino?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just been a long week. I'm trying not to think." Ino turned her head to the girl and gave her a halfhearted smile. The life and animation had been drawn from Ino's face, her emotions were faded leaving her with a tame demeanor.

"Ino, come on you can't be like this forever." Sakura said standing up "It's been a week since he's been back and your acting like someone died."

"Someone did die Sakura, the Shika I used to know. The one that didn't go off and marry someone and leave his village, the one who dreamed of just settling down in Konaho on his parents estate. The one who never had time for women. The one who talked to me." Ino's voice was slightly raised and she was on her feet now. She felt a lump grow in the back of her throat as she held back tears with her fists clenched. She had wanted to practice with Sakura so she could blow off steam not talk about this.

"Ino come on he is the same Shikamaru and if you let him you guys would talk. You of all people know that dreams change and people change. This is for the better." Sakura said in a pleading voice.

"Its just not how it was supposed to be." Ino said quietly, sitting back down and burying her face in her hands.

Sakura stepped forward and knelt by the girl that she had the greatest admiration for.

"You can just go I think I would rather be alone." Ino said looking up at Sakura and giving her a little smile. Sakura did as told, reluctantly, and left.

Ino stood to look for her stray weapons.

Why was everyone trying to tell her how to feel? She had to be so many people for everyone to make them happy and to make them think she was happy. She was starting to forget what she was really feeling and who she truly was.

Ino stopped and her thoughts faded as she bent down to pick up a kunai. She felt someone.

Danger! Ino's mind screamed. She threw the kunai in her hand in the direction of where she could sense someone. Then herd it shuffle in the bushes and the person she was hoping the least to see stepped out.

"How did you do that I had my chakra under perfect control?" The dark eyed man asked stepping towards her and she stepped back.

"Not good enough I guess. I've become very sensitive to chakra signatures." Ino said with tightness in her stomach and a confused look on her face.

Why was he here? Why was he all the way out in the woods sitting in a bush?

"Your father has taught you a lot since I've been gone."

"No, that was all me." She said a small smile crawled up the left side of her mouth. "I taught myself a lot after you left."

Ino pushed the hair out of her face so she could look him directly in the eyes. Shikamaru turned his back to her and shoved his hands in his pockets avoiding her piercing stare.

"Yea I've heard." He said scoffing at the ground.

"What have you heard?" her brow furrowed. What did people have to say about her?

"That I'm not the only one that has found a life partner." He said as he pushed his hands further and further into his pockets until Ino was sure he might rip right threw.

Ino fell to the ground laughing. She grabbed at a stitch in her side trying to catch her breath when Shikamaru came to her side. Staring down at her he realized she wasn't hurt in any way.

"Tha…tha..that's good. How… could… yo…you…life partner." Ino gained her self control and rolled onto her back staring up at him smiling. "We aren't engaged. Who even said that? We've only been going out for a year. I mean some of the villagers might think…Well we aren't "life partners" you old man."

"I've just heard stories about how happy you two are and when I saw you, you guys just looked right together."

"When did you see us?" Ino's face shifted a little as she wondered what he must think of her moving on in her own way. What he might be confused about. She felt embarrassed at her lack of empathy.

"At that café. You came in in a hurry. He just looked at you like…" He trailed off and scratched the back of his head as he stared down at her.

Ino didn't want to know what he was about to say so she let it fall. She smiled at the sight of him looking uncomfortable when mentioning human contact. Ino smiled up at him with a flutter in her stomach.

Shikamaru did this every time he saw her and didn't even know it. Every time he came around she seemed to forget how badly he hurt her. That was how it always was. She could hold a grudge for longer than she lived with anyone but him. It was like he set her brain on a different mode, but it was only a temporary, after they parted the feelings of anger and sadness would return and she would hate herself even more for making him think she had forgiven him.

Ino turned her head to the side as she lay on the ground and the high was gone, the feeling of happiness left her. She retreated from him and he could feel her pull away. How could one lazy human being have so much control over her? She lay there on the ground and hoped with all her heart she would just disappear into the grass. She wouldn't have to deal with the look he gave her when the smile slid off her face. She didn't know what the conversation that followed would be about but she knew she didn't want to be there to listen to it.

"Ino?" Shikamaru said kneeling next to her as she laid on her back staring up at him. She nodded to let him know he had her full attention. "Sakura was right. You should move on."

She let his words wash over her mind. He wanted her to move on? To what? To a life of halfhearted smiles? To a life of full rooms and an empty heart? That is what he was condemning her to.

What he had said seemed so final that she didn't know how to tell him she couldn't. She had tricked herself into believing she loved another man and she had tricked herself into believing she was thriving without Shikamaru.

It was okay to create something fake while he was gone but now he was here and she couldn't move on from this. What ever this was, not matter how terrible her timing was or how fucked up it was she loved him. She may have tried to convince herself she didn't but she did. She loved him and it was breaking her.

She could only manage to slowly look back up to him with a faux smile and said "I'll try."