disclaimer: I don't 'Naruto'.

CHAPTER.. Two

-Flower petals-


(Shikamaru)

Shikamaru sighed heavily as he patiently walked beside Temari, his eyes drooping slightly in tiredness. He wrapped his calloused fingers around the coin in his right pocket and let his eyes wander up to the cold midnight sky. One particularly bright star catching his eye. Briefly he pondered whether or not it belonged in one of the constellations, that Ino had forced him to memorize, but he soon dismissed the thought as they passed through the gates.

He met the eyes of a guard and upon further inspection he realized with a jolt that it was Kankurou. The Puppet master merely smirked in greeting, then broke away from his post and carelessly slid down the banister of a guard rail, and landed beside him. Shikamaru nodded in greeting, then scowled as he met Temari's gaze.

They were led behind the small square adobe houses, the scent of dust and straw filling their nostrils as they wound up the winding staircase of the Kazekage building.

Shikamaru kept his eyes on the back of Temari's sandals, not daring to look over the straight-fifty-foot drop down to the pavement, he merely sidled his way over to the wall and placed his hand on it reassuringly. Hoping that the nin who followed did not take it as a sign of weakness or illness. Because if he had to turn and look at them, he knew his face would be ill, and that he might wobble off the side and fall to his death. And so he did not look up from her heels, but merely squinted in concentration.

It would be an understatement to say that the Shadow user did not fear heights, in fact he dreaded them. (One of the reasons Ino questioned his dreams of becoming a cloud, she decided to inform him that clouds hovered numerous of miles above the surface, and that he could fall to his death if he were one, but Shikamaru merely told her that clouds were not living, and they did not fall.) He was deathly afraid of sheer drops, infinite death. It wasn't the dying part that scared him, because if he was afraid of dying, why would he be a Shinobi? Or A Chounin for that matter? But it was the sense of falling. It was the feeling of knowing that you were going to die, and not having one thing to do to stop your death. It was that there were not numerous possibilities for him to rule out. It was unchangeable, inevitable, and he could not make it practical, and that was why he hated heights. Merely because they threw his mental balance off, and they gave him splitting headaches.

Before he knew it they had arrived in the Guest wing, the Southern most portion of the building, that was newly referbished and smelt of new dust and new straw. Shikamaru scowled as Temari led him to his room, which so happened to be right beside her own, fortunately for him though, Neji had excepted his offer for a switch, which brought him all the way down the hall.

It wasn't that he did not like Temari, but well- it was that he no longer liked Temari. She was clingy, boisterous and Jealous of any other female that came within a fifteen foot radius of his body. And he could simply not have a woman who was on his back all the time about every single thing- He shook his head. Every woman he knew was like Temari in one way or the other, including Ino, he concluded.

Temari was the bossy type, yes she was very intelligent, almost as intelligent as Shikamaru thought himself to be, but there was one thing that unnerved him. She was almost an exact replica of Ino.

The way she flaunted herself in front of men, the way she held herself, carried herself even. And that smirk that she directed at him, her eyes were ravenous like she wanted to eat his flesh. And Shikamaru thought that he had relatively nice looking skin, and that he would love to keep it.

But he could not deny, if one were to ask, that he had once fallen hard for the Sand Kunoichi at one point in time. well he could deny it, but everyone knew. He had fallen very, very hard.

At first she was everything he could ask for.

She had simple needs, she was slightly intelligent and she knew how to take care of herself, but things then took a turn for the worse.

She became needy and clingy and constantly battling for his attention. She was more like his body guard than anything and Shikamaru had a code: And that code was that men were superior over women, with the exception of Tsunade- because well...that woman was different.

Men were supposed to take care of their women, supposed to be soul providers while the women supplied him with nourishment and cared for his needs every once in a while, but what had started out as a good thing had now gone sour. And he did not want ot continue, and she had agreed, albeit a little too quickly.

Maybe she had not really felt a connection. Shikamaru hadn't and that was why the whole secret masquerade had caved in on it's self. And now they were both free.

And Shikamaru had been relatively happy. But now things were different, and he found that when he lay in bed at night, he desired companionship.

Perhaps it was that he had pushed his hormones aside when he was younger, picturing the perfect woman and then waiting for her to come along- she never did. And now his hormones were pushing the the surface. And because he was inexperienced, for he had not been through relationships when he was supposed to, he was now having difficulty with acquiring the skills to actually date a woman, let alone stay with her for the remainder of his life on this planet.

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head, He should be focusing on the mission, not women.

With lazy hands he reached out to the door knob and turned it, and stumbled into the dark room, his eyes soon adjusting to the candle lit lamps lit above the futon, he stepped in and locked the door behind him. Although any ninja could enter even if the door was locked, if they really wanted too, he felt more secure with it that way. More private.

And after toeing himself out of his sandals, he pulled his shirt over his head and fumbled with his belt buckle in the dark. Sliding his black trousers past his knees and stepping out of them he kicked them to the corner of the room and stretched, one hand above his head and the other scratching his stomach as he meandered over to the Futon and pulled the covers down.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was dreaming.

Dreaming about sun flower petals..


(INO)


Ino held the small red velvet box in her hand as she pushed herself out of bed. She walked to the mirror, her reflection casting back an unwelcome scene before her.

Her hair was tousled, her mascara running down from her eyes messily and her eyelashes clumped together, dew drop tears flickering in the sunlight that cascaded from the window behind her, that hovered over her bed. She sighed heavily, pressing her fingers under her eyelids and harshly rubbing them upward. She glared at the offending black substance that resided on her fingers afterwards.

"I have to work today," She said, mostly to herself as she clutched the velvet box in her palm.

She walked into the bathroom and started a warm bath, her towel left to sit on top of the toilet lid while she removed the bobby pins and berets from her golden tresses. She looked at the red box, that sat open on her counter with a small sad smile.

"I can't believe he left me here." She growled, slapping the lid shut as she reached over and turned the water off.

She jerked her giant shirt- Shikamaru's shirt which was a dark forest green, that seemed to be his favorite color- over her head and folded it, pressing it down on the counter and looking at her naked reflection.

She sighed, her hand coming to rest over her slightly larger breasts, her eyes on the small pooch that had started to show. She regarded it as a growth of some sort, but it was merely from the lack of exercise. Although she was on one of her 'diets' again, her weight loss seemed to have slowed down, and it was hard to lose weight the old fashioned way. Maybe she would have to try something new? She hated trying new things. Especially diets.

Ino slowly sank into the almost scalding water, her eyes drooping considerably as she rested her head on the side of the tub.

She wondered what kind of things Shikamaru was doing. If he had arrived in Suna yet.

She sighed heavily. Why couldn't she go? He knew they were a matching set, that they worked more efficiently if they were together, and that it was safer for him if she was there.

She was constantly watching his back, although she knew he did the same for her. Was she a nuisance for him? Was that why he did not bring her? Or was it because he didn't want her in his business while he was in Suna? He has been getting alot of assignments to The Village Hidden in The Sand, lately. Very many. Did he request them? She thought to herself as she brought the soapy rag over her petite wrist and scrubbed up her elbows.

--

Ino sat on her stool in front of the giant violet vanity in her room, the clock reading six twenty-five, which meant she had at least thirty minutes to get to work before she was counted late.

Ino ran her hands over her make-up brushes, and sighed, picking up the smallest and applying the most minute amount of base, then some pale gold eye blush, and rimmed her eyes with a fresh layer of mascara, to darken her long ebony lashes. She puckered her lips cutely, bringing her pale lipstick covered brush to her lips and dabbing it on expertly, before smacking and letting her hair down from her pale yellow towel.

She smiled sadly, opening the velvet box and pulling the beret from it, she combed her left side back and pinned it up, then shook her hair, and let her bangs fall into her face.

She smiled at her reflection, admiring the beret with a sad smile that continually tugged at her lips as she saw the light glint against it's surface. She looked beautiful.

--

She wrapped the strings double around her waist and fixed her apron, then grabbed a watering can and sprinkled the thirsty flowers.

"Good morning." She chimed, smiling down at the pansies affectionately as she poured the cool water on their thirsty roots.

She mentally noted that she sounded crazy, but no one was around to hear her, so she might as well let it go.

She let her hand rest on the wooden surface of the service counter, her bottom pressing against the stool as she lazily laid her head against her hand, and watched the suns' rays pour over the morning glory's by the window with a small smile.

It wasn't long before the bell to the shop door was ringing, but her eyes were stuck on the magazine before her.

"Excuse me," The voice drawled lazily.

Ino merely scowled, her eyes peeling from the magazine.

She looked up at Hatake Kakashi with an eyebrow quirked, her lips sliding back in a snarl, but she remained calm, although that familiar orange book was so close to her face.

"What can I help you with?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"The Hokage requests your presence." He sighed, looking up at her with a lazy eye.

The same sort of expression she was tired of, but aching for. She felt her heart flutter.(1) She stood up from her seat and unwrapped the bindings of her apron, then followed him out of the door, quickly shutting off all the lights and turning the neon sign to 'CLOSED' Instead of the blue and red flashing open. She sighed, as he walked slowly beside her, chancing a glance away from his book every now and then.

"Do you know what it is about?" She asked irritably, he was starting to get on her nerves.

"Something important." He said, raising a silver eyebrow at her as he pulled the book down and pressed it into his back pocket. "Ja ne." He waved with one hand, his fingers in the symbol of peace as he puffed into smoke.

Ino coughed and turned on her feet, a scowl on her face as she sprinted off to the Hokage tower. What could she possibly want now?


"WHAT?" Ino screeched, her hands balled up into tight fists, so tight that her fingers were turning white.

"Yamanaka-san, p-please calm down." Hinata said beside her, her hand gracefully landing on her fellow kunoichi's shoulder.

"Hinata is right Ino, calm your self or you will be removed." Tsunade said, her eyes slanting dangerously as she looked at the three before her. "As you have all just been informed, the ambassador of the Mist village are not Shinobi, and therefore they have hired our Shinobi to escort them, as a symbol of trust before the treaty is made, I chose you three for this job because, well simply because I saw you fit." Her eyes glinted mischievously as she pressed her thin hands together, lacing her fingers before resting her chin in her palms.

Ino took a quick glance to her right, Naruto and Hinata as her partners? How wrong of a group could that be- "But why Naruto?" Ino questioned, and perfectly shaped golden eyebrow raising to her hairline.

"Because Tsunade-sama was asked specifically by the Kazekage, It seems he has heard of Naruto's arrival from his last mission, and has some business he needs to take care of, and also because you need strength on your side if there is an ambush." Shizune said from her desk outside, her head peering through the door way innocently.

Ino growled under her throat. " Then why were Hinata and I chosen for this mission as well?" She said through gritted teeth.

This time Tsunade was the one to raise a golden eyebrow. "Would you rather not go? You made all of that fuss at the Festival so I assumed it held some importance to you that the villages would be united under a treaty, or was I mistaken in thinking your skills would be useful? Especially if this is just a trap to send out our shinobi? And the Mist has no real intentions of joining in the treaty? As well as Hinata. Your spying skills would be very useful on this mission, and I thought you two best for the job, especially with your improving skills." Tsunade said, a sly smile flickering over her lips briefly, before her face returned to that of utter seriousness.

"You are to read the scrolls for the instructions for your mission, dismissed."

--

Ino read over her scroll carefully, a smug smile passing over her lips. "To Suna it is." She said quietly, her eyes flickering over to Hinata and Naruto. "If you two will be ready in the next couple of hours, we can leave immediately."

Hinata and Naruto nodded in agreement, before turning away. "Hai." She watched as they both turned their separate ways.

A small smile played on her lips as she walked into her apartment and started to pack her things. "Guess I'm useful after all."


Ino stood at the entry gates with her eyes set up on the clouds, her fingers clutching the straps of her bag as she kicked her own heels. She watched the sun light pour over Konoha's walls with a smile, but her heart was clenching.

What would Shikamaru say when she showed up in Suna?

A smirk played on her lips. He would be surprise when she showed up with the welcome wagon. The image in her head was almost comical, the way his jaw would fluctuate up and down as he tried to form words, the way his forever bored gaze would light up with surprise, his eyes slightly bulging as she sauntered over and pushed his jaw up.

She put her hands on her hips and grinned impishly, her eyes skimming over the light green leaves. She wondered how long the journey to meet up with the wagon with the ambassodor would take, hopefully not too long. She raised an eyebrow as two forms suddenly appeared in the distance; Hinata, and Naruto. Both coming from opposite directions, opposite ends of town. Ino smiled, watching their shadows hit them pavement.

She turned on her heels towards them as they drew closer, the smile vanshing from her face as she took on mission mode. It was time to get serious.

"Okay so before we go we need to come up with a plan." She said, her eyes raising up from the scroll she held in her hand as if to inquire if any one of them objected. They did not.

"Alright, well as clear as day it says that I am team leader on the bottom of the scroll."

Indeed it did:

Team leader: Yamanaka Ino

It was written in bold letters on the Mission Scroll, Ino looked up to see Naruto rolling his eyes. Her teeth ground together.

"So I am estimating that it will take us at least the rest of the day, maybe more to reach the border of Fire Country, where we will be meeting with the Ambassador and his company." Ino said, her eyes flickering over the mission scroll repeatedly, like she had watched Shikamaru's do a million times.

"But you d-don't know t-that for a fact?" Hinata said, her face slightly tinted pink from her close proximity to Baruto, who stood oblivious to the whole thing and just nodded in agreement with her.

"Well I'm not a hundred percent accurate, Shikamaru normally does the time thing- but we will be close no doubt about that!" Ino rounded, her eyes slanting at the two before her. "So do we have any questions before we head out?" She said, pivoting on her heel towards the Gates.

"Nah." Naruto said, adjusting his pack and walking up to Ino's side.

"Then let's go." She said loudly, as she pushed herself off of the ground and into the trees, her chakra enhanced feet pushing her quickly from one tree to the next. "We are going to stay off the roads as not to draw attention, stay in the cover of the trees, it is quicker this way."

Again she did what Shikamaru had done. She was so used to this routine that she would often mouth the words behind his back as they ran, causing Chouji to roll his eyes and chuckle every time.

Ino looked back at her companions with a slight smile, maybe this would work.

--

This will absolutely not work! Ino thought, growling as night came along and Naruto was whining for a break.

She looked at him, slightly older.

His build was more stocky, his shoulders widely spread and he stood at least a head taller than herself, a head shorter than Shikamaru. His blond hair still unruly as ever, his cerulean eyes further spaced than when he was younger, his chin more square shaped and pronounced, and of course his hair was longer, his arms slightly built and his legs long.

Ino growled. Wasn't he supposed to mature too? His body had. So why hadn't his mind? She rolled her eyes as they jumped from the trees and stood between a tall oak and a spruce, her blue ovals shimmering in the dusk atmosphere.

"A-ano," Hinata started nervously, as she pulled an energy bar from her pocket. "Here Naruto-kun, we will half it."

Ino nodded in agreement, that would be much quicker, and they wouldn't need to stop and make a fire.

"Arigato hinata-chan- but I want ramen!" He said with a foxy grin, his eyes flickering over to Ino. "Pleaaaaaaase?"

Ino rolled her eyes, her foot tapping impatiently on the ground.

She remembered when she was the one to make those puppy dog eyes at Shikamaru, and how he would give in every time. Her heart suddenly went soft, but she was different than she had been as a younger adult, her eyebrow sprang up.

"No Naruto, those puppy dog eyes will not work on me...I invinted that look." She said, smirking as he turned away dejectedly.

She watched Hinata smile, then giggle at Naruto's antics. "Nor will it w-work with me, N-naruto-kun." She said, her arms reaching up, but she immediately put them down.

Ino smiled, she knew that the Hyuuga was really trying ot relax, and not fidget around him. She was so proud of her friend for improving herself. It was a good change.

Naruto turned on his heel with a pout, his arms crossing over his chest and his eyes narrowing, making his face resemble that of a fish. "That's unfair." He murmured, walking ahead.

He looked back with a glare. "Well if we aren't going to stop for ramen, then what are we waiting for, we got a mission to complete!"

Ino smiled and took a second glance at Hinata, who also nodded.

"Then let's get moving." Ino called, jumping back into the cover of the trees.


They arrived at the camp shortly after the sun had completely disappeared behind the treeline. Ino was the first to walk up to the camp fire, where seven men sat around.

"Are you the Ambassadors we have been looking for?" Ino called, her hand propped upon her hip, a gentle smile on her face as they turned around with shocked expressions, they all jumped back from the fire, but Ino merely laughed. "We are the Shinobi from Konohagakure." She stated, motioning to her comrades and herself.

"Hello then miss.." A voice called from her right, Ino turned toward the voice.

There stood a man, shirtless leaning against the tail of the wagon, his eyes lined with age and knowledge, but his chest was well toned, like that of a thirty year old man, instead of a fifty year old ambassador.

She instantly smiled, her eyes flickering over his short cut grey hair. The robes that hung from his elbows suggested that he was a fairly wealthy man, from Mist.

"Yamanaka." She said, walking over to shake his hand.

"Yamanaka-san, it is an honor." He said, bringing her hand to his lips. He looked up at her, his trimmed grey eyebrows hiding his expression as he pecked a kiss against her knuckles.

When he released her she instantly returned that hand to her hip.

"As it is to my comrades and I to meet you, Mr. Karada."

The man simply smiled, the smile lines making his handsome features more profound. Ino turned her gaze to the men at the fire, who had calmed down some what.

"If you don't mind Mr. Karada, we are in a hurry to get you to Suna safely, so we will be leaving in the morning, dawn preferably." She said as he walked towards the fire.

"Yes yes, dawn is the plan," He said, flashing her his handsome smile once again. "You hear that men? Dawn."

All the men mumbled in agreement.

Ino merely raised an eyebrow as she watched them all scatter to their tents.

She turned to her comrades who simply nodded back at her. They would all take turns watching over the camp.


(1) When I said it made her heart flutter- it was just meant that she missed the lazy draw, the lazy look from Shikamaru, so Kakashi's mannerisms were reminding her of Shikamaru.