A/N: You know what? Y'all wanted a second chapter? GUESS WHO'S GIVING YOU ONE. But seriously though, y'all had better be pleased as punch to be getting this. I've been wanting to do a second chapter for this story just about since I've published it, especially after all of the positive feedback I got from y'all. So thanks! It means a lot!

I'm sorry it took so long. I used inspiration from my life to write a story as a coping mechanism. I didn't know how it would end, so I couldn't exactly write more. But then I was living in France and I got struck with what to write. More is to come.

It is what it is. Hope you enjoy.


"Let me kiss you."

She could feel her blood; hot, bubbling, and pulsing at the most rapid speed she could remember. She was dizzy and her eyes were glazing over, her face was radiating heat and every follicle on her arms slowly stood to attention. The clarity in which she noticed minute details was astounding. The coarseness of her tongue scraped against the roof of her mouth, because she hadn't thought drinking water that night was something she should do.

He stood over her with his right arm against the wall, blocking her only exit to the door inside, where everyone else partied into the dawn of a new start. When did he get so tall? She felt like she was drowning in him, overwhelmed in how he smelled and how he looked and how he had felt and what he would taste like. His eyes were burning or smoldering or whatever you call it when a boy is staring into your eyes like he wants to eat your heart and he knows you'll let him.

"I…I…"

Why was she speechless? He leaned his body closer to her, until she felt her back hit the wall and his thigh touch hers.

"Shikamaru…"

X

She glanced out her window as she was dusting some blush on her cheek.

Daylight was fading fast, with hues of purples and indigos and pinks and oranges skirting each cloud in an easy, summer way. Her window was hanging languorously open, reveling in the warmth that the day had provided and the sounds the birds made and the unending smell of flowers that just made Ino shine. Flowers were sort of her thing. Obviously.

It had been over a year and a half since she had been dealt a hand by the genius nin that had changed her life.

She honestly didn't know what had become of him. She had spent the first few days (okaaaaay, weeks) asking around, showing up at all of his usual places, traversing the Nara grounds with the deer like a princess with her woodland critters. Ino had gotten tired of secretly derailing her life for this boy who didn't give two fucks about her or her feelings or the truth, so she stopped derailing her life at all.

Ino spent time with Sakura, rekindling any lost time she had missed with the pink-haired prodigy. She traversed through Konoha, finding places new and old that she would keep close to her heart. She tended to flowers, which was something she had sorely missed in Suna. She trained with Hinata and TenTen, and Chouji when she could find him, and would go on missions and work at the hospital and file paperwork when she was bored. She went out for drinks often with the girls, but she found that she did not mind the stigma that came with going out for drinks often. She enjoyed having fun and getting attention and singing loudly to stupidly catchy songs and reveling in how diverse her friends were but how they all fit together into one chummy glove like snug little fingers.

TenTen and Neji were finally dating, as of last spring. TenTen was the emotional lead, of course, but they were precious and darling and so awkward that she sometimes blushed for them. Neji was lightening up, though he still remained that uncomfortable shade of intelligent that socially debilitated him. TenTen was chipper and deserving of whatever happiness she found, as one would expect. Ino liked hanging around the pair of them (in a group, duh, because alone was just weird) because they just completed each other in a quirky way, and it was nice to know that she had been right about their compatibility.

Hinata and Naruto were kind of ugh inducing. They were still perfect, still in love, still dating, still cute cute cute. Laaaaaame. She was kidding, but only a little bit. They were both really fun in a group, as Naruto would get hammered when they all went out and no one said anything because he was the hero of Konoha and he literally could do whatever he wanted. And also because everyone knew he would go home with a considerably less drunk Hinata before it got too late. She did enjoy seeing a drunk Naruto lovingly assault any of his comrades through a round of shots and karaoke. It gave her and Sakura something to laugh about the next day over breakfast.

Since Sasuke had come back, the group dynamic had been momentarily uprooted, because of course Sakura was emotional about it and Naruto wanted to reintegrate their old teammate back into the grind and Sai was weirdly almost jealous and there were those two other ninjas who popped up with him that were sort of weird and Lee was trying to give Sakura space and BLEH. Ino still had lots of opinions about the traitor, but considering she had matured slightly (hey, she totally had), she was being the bigger person by keeping her big fat mouth shut.

Kiba had definitely laid off because Ino had put on her big girl panties after her Nara ordeal, as she liked to call it to herself, and set her foot down. She was not into meaningless shit right now and Kiba could go find some other girl to fuck when he was bored. It was all part of the reform Ino had made, to clear her life out. They were on good terms again, but strictly platonic, which was how she liked it.

She and Chouji were on very easy, pleasant terms, because for some reason Chouji sensed a very immediate, dangerous rift between his two best friends and had the foresight to pretend that nothing had happened while never mentioning the Nara kid around her. Oh, Chouji. He truly was the perfect specimen of friend. He would very soon make some very lucky girl very happy, Ino could smell it. Call it her psychic sense, but she had never been wrong in the matters of love.

Well. Sort of.

(Oh yes, Shino was Shino. She didn't bother.)

But summer was finally here and the night was perfect and she loved her friends and there were no better reasons to throw a party, were there? So she had done her hair up in big, loose curls with her bangs actually pulled back from her face with a glittery purple clip and with her eyelashes like butterflies, fat with black mascara and a short, ruffly white dress and towering purple heels; she looked ready to have a good time.

She glanced out her window again, having just made sure that she looked ready to kill. Dusk has fallen into a sleepier evening, with a velvet night sky that promised something. She wasn't sure what, but nothing was more exciting than the promise of something unknown.

X

The stars were out in their best array as she pranced with Sakura on her arm through the streets of Konoha.

It was funny to Ino how as twenty-something ninjas on a mission to have a good time, the streets were always their playground. No one could stop them. Civilians just rolled their eyes at their antics, their parents just shrugged at the life they led, and they expected the same of everyone else. They could literally do whatever they liked, and it was a powerful feeling to know that the streets were yours. She and Sakura were like gods on this empty street on this warm night with a bottle's worth of wine sloshing around pleasantly in their stomachs with no more ninja wars to worry about. And it felt good.

Sakura looked like something imagined from a fairy tale dream, with her almost shoulder-length pink hair littered with flowers (from Ino's garden, obviously) and her green dress that flowed from a short cut in the front to a longer hem in the back and billowed in the wind like she was flying on wings. Ino would be hard-pressed to admit it, but she really liked having attractive friends. It made her feel like a little cult of Amazons that no one could penetrate.

Hm. Ino mused that she was definitely on a power trip tonight. Oh well!

They came giggling and clambering up to the entrance of Chouji's estate as the clouds had cleared and the moon had risen and lit up the street like a perpetual firework display. "It's a good thing Chouji's clan is on a diplomatic mission to Suna," Sakura said as they trampled up the front walkway. "I've missed having sneaky house parties!"

Ino nodded her head sagely. "Bars are cool and all, but there's something about the thrill of being sneaky…"

Sakura let out a rather unladylike snort and covered her grin with her hands.

She and Ino shared a look.

"Ninja?" Sakura asked.

"Ninja," Ino gravely replied, until they both broke out in raucous cackles at their own cleverness. Being sneaky. Goodness.

They must have been giggling louder than they thought, because a door opened immediately for them as they arrived at the door. Chouji stood there in a nice pair of slacks and a shirt that Ino had picked out for him once, which pleased Ino very much indeed. He cocked an eyebrow and gave a rather debonair smile. "Ladies?" he crooned.

Ino squealed and gave him a quick hug, remarking "Oh Chouji! You look so charming in your shirt! Look at you, being an adorable host! Sakura, isn't Chouji just the best?"

"Oh, the very best," Sakura said with a grin. "How's it going Chouji?"

He ushered them in with the regular pleasantries, knowing the girls had started their party a little earlier, knowing that his own party had started long before. It was going to be a good night.

There was some music from the bowels of the house that was pounding with hints of electronic flair that you could easily dance to and dozens of people that Ino did not recognize. People were screaming and laughing and running and Ino felt like she had been sucked into a liquor-induced, candy-coated, adolescent hurricane.

Naruto came screeching to a halt out of nowhere to throw his arms around both Sakura and Ino in a giant assault of love and orange. "SAKURA! INO! YOU FINALLY MADE IT!" he bellowed, rupturing several eardrums in the near vicinity.

"Hi Naruto!" Sakura squeaked through crushed lungs.

Naruto was followed closely by a timid, wobbly shadow of lavender and loveliness, dressed demurely but obviously drunk as hell. This was Ino's favorite: a drunk Hinata was the funniest Hinata.

"Hello girls," she mumbled before hiccupping. She let out a little yelp of apology and covered her mouth with her hands in shock, almost at disbelief that a Hyuga could hiccup. Naruto immediately released Sakura and Ino and clasped Hinata's face gingerly in his fingers. "Hina, are you all right?" he asked, almost incoherently. She looked up at him with bleary white eyes and sooty lashes, nodding. They looked like they were about to have a moment.

Ino wanted to barf.

"Oh God, there's Lee," Sakura whispered shrilly into Ino's ear and sprinted to some other room buried within the Akimichi estate.

The wine sloshed warmly in Ino's stomach.

Oh yes.

This would be a good night.

X

The concept of time had completely escaped Ino. She had no idea what time it was, but the house was hot and people were dancing and she was having a great time. For Ino, the greatest part of a party was getting to be wild and dance with everyone she knew and many she didn't. There was anonymity in just letting go and not speaking and not caring and being sweaty and moving in time to very fast music. There was something very safe about it.

Someone had shattered several bottles on the dance floor, but Ino didn't mind. She was dancing amongst flashing lights and her feet ground the glass into a fine, glittering dust. It made her feel powerful again, even though she had no idea where Sakura was and she was even more drunk than before. Stars were in her eyes and glitter was on the floor. Everything was gold for her, just like her flaxen drooping curls.

It was getting to that point of the night where couples were clearly forming and the pairs for the night were set in stone. Who was going to fuck whom, she wondered. At least she didn't have to wonder about herself. Flying solo again.

Not that she minded too terribly. Yeah, it sucked that she didn't get to be held in someone's arms or kissed boldly on the lips or feel fingers running through her hair or wake up next to someone and feel all warm and rainbow-y inside, but she didn't mind. Really.

Actually, she had not been on her game at all tonight. She, Ino, the champion of romance, the kunoichi of the seduction mission, the unabashed flirt of the Rookie Nine, had just not cared at all tonight. She didn't bat her eyes at strangers across the house and she took shots by herself and she was currently dancing by herself. That was okay though. She just didn't care.

Through the darkness of the house and the pulsating beat of the music and the heat of sweaty young bodies, Chouji swung up to her, looking a little sad and the worse for wear. She leaned in very close to his ear and put her hands on his shoulders. "Are you ok?" she asked. The crowd pushed in as a popular song came on and everyone rushed to dance. He pressed his ample cheek to hers. "Ino," he mumbled. "I'm feeling really lonely." Ino immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in an embrace and asked "Why?" They remained rather still as everyone thrashed about them.

"Literally everyone has someone. Look at them. Everyone but me."

"Chouji. Don't you dare think like that!" she said indignantly. "Besides, you're wrong. I don't have anyone either." (She said that a lot more proudly than she felt it.) "And I'll let you in on a secret. I had a premonition, or a thought, or a whatever, that you're going to meet someone very soon."

"Really?" Chouji asked hopefully, his breath smelling of beer and his eyes dripping of loneliness and fatigue.

Ino cocked an eyebrow and a hip and smirked. "Who are you talking to? I am the angel of our team and the warrior of love, and I am never wrong!"

Chouji let out a laugh and glanced around. "It seems we're the only ones not dancing. Will you dance with me until I find The One, Warrior of Love?"

She grinned her most winsome smile and murmured, "I'd be honored to."

The darkness of the room was immediately consuming. People were everywhere in writhing masses and Ino saw no point in fighting the impulse. The music was just what she needed; loud and brash and harsh but still rhythmically beautiful. She felt like a butterfly floating amongst a crowd of moths or bees. Her eyes closed and her hips swayed and her feet moved and man, it felt good to be drunk and young and beautiful, even if she was a little lonely.

A pair of strong hands gently closed in on her waist and she just smiled. Guess she had been on her game after all. That was pretty flattering. She leaned back into a man's strong chest and pressed her ass into his pelvis, feeling him jump a little in surprise. She couldn't repress a giggle. Boys were all the same, no matter how bold or cool they acted. They were all a little dweeby.

She raised her hands in the air and just let her body move with this new body she had found, his arms encircling her waist intimately and his hands pressed on her hipbones.

It felt like two pieces of a puzzle coming together. The curve of her back lined beautifully up to the chest behind her. She felt lovingly encircled by strong arms and she slid one of her hands up his jawline to the nape of his neck. Slightly stubbly, but pleasant to touch. It felt like coming home after being away for a long, long time.

Sigh.

(That was from BEHIND her, not from herself.)

His body just welcomed hers so evidently, it was beginning to feel that he wasn't just dancing with her, he was holding something precious.

This was a good night.

This was a great night.

This was the perfect night. Her body fit perfectly with this stranger's and she was perfectly drunk and she was a perfectly happy girl. It even smelled perfect! The smell of the air was intoxicating; various perfumes and colognes being sweat off, sticky sweet alcohol, and tobacco and old books.

Ino's body suddenly shut down and her adrenaline flew into overdrive. Her eyes flew open and the body behind her tensed with hers.

How could she be so fucking stupid literally all of the time.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a wide-eyed Chouji desperately seeking someone to hide behind, out of Ino's path, but everyone else was dancing. Where were all her friends? People she knew? (He was right there.) (Oh my God.) (He was right. There.)

Shakily, she started forward, not looking back. (Don't look at him don't look at him don't you dare look at him.)

A hand grabbed at her wrist and she heard the start of her name coming off of his lips.

(Don't look at him or you're lost.)

"How dare you," she hissed with every ounce of venom and toxicity she could muster as she slapped that hand away, and trounced to the back door with her dress flurrying behind her.

X

To be continued, y'all!