A/N: I hope you all like this regardless of what my profile says this is my first fanfiction. If you read it, and you don't like it, it's your own damn fault. Any suggestions or fixes please tell me. And I want to thank the people who reviewed, and also a big thanks to my beta CraziiDani.

Summary: ShikaIno. Ino wants Shikamaru, but what happens when they take it further? A baby on the way, a murder, a suicide, and a broken man.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Naruto in any way shape or form. That is Kishimoto-Sensei. (Tries to steal characters) I just write the stories.

So Troublesome!

I stood there stunned for awhile. "Temari still likes me!" Were the words running through my head. She looked at me, waiting for an answer, but all coherent thoughts left me, leaving me to stand there and look like an idiot.

"I know what I did." She began to explain.

"I had to do it for Sunagakure and more importantly for you." Those words wound up hitting me like bricks.

"I understand." I tried to reason. She was having none of it. Temari never settled for excuses.

"No you don't!" She exclaimed at me, looking like she was about to punch me. I was startled when I saw the tears forming in her eyes. I could already tell what was about to happen. I knew her well enough to understand her position. I hated where this was going.

"Okay, so explain it." I stated simply. If I didn't understand then she should explain it to me. She looked taken aback at my words. I sat down and waited, hoping this would move forward quickly. I had important business today.

"It was three years ago when Sunagakure had no Kazekage. Nobody in charge. Nothing. The Shinobi of Sunagakure had to do more missions to make up for it. The Village had Gennin doing "C" rank missions and Chunin doing "A's"." She explained to me. Her eyes darted from their spot on the floor and over to me. I nodded, showing I was following along. After my reassurance she continued.

"I had no time for a relationship, for love." She told me. My heart skipped a beat or two. Sabaku no Temari had almost admitted her feelings. "I had to work hard for my country, and if I died on a mission then I wouldn't want it to hurt you."

"I understand." I repeated. I really did. I would do the same thing for my own Village. I would sacrifice my own personal happiness for it's safety in a heartbeat.

"There's more." She interrupted. "I had recently gone on a mission with my best friend. During the mission we were ambushed and forced to fight. I had killed the enemy I was fighting, and as I turned around my friend was beheaded from behind." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. I could see she was struggling with the memories.

"I had gone mad." She continued, not struggling at all to tell the story. "In a furious state I managed to kill the remaining fifteen enemies in one blow. I remember falling down beside her, I tried to heal her but she was already dead." Her eyes suddenly flashed before glazing over. She was completely lost to the memory. She probably didn't even remember the previous conversation.

"After completing the mission I made my way back to Sunagakure. I sat down on my bed looking at my hands I was covered in blood, but for the first time I didn't care. I felt cold, I couldn't feel or hear. I could only see the blood. Her blood."

"Temari..." I whispered, trying to bring her back gently. I didn't want her to get upset when the story continued. I had the feeling that it would only get worse. All three Sand Siblings had been through a lot in times of battle. Things beyond imagination.

"That was when it hit me." She continued, not taking any time to consider my request. "My friend's blood mingling in with the enemies."

I grimaced, only being able to imagine. How hard it must be to live with yourself after something happening like that. She said it happened to her best friend. If I allowed something even remotely similar to happen to Chouji I would lie down and die with him. I suddenly found myself wishing I could bring her some comfort. No one had really taken the time to see Temari as a girl. As anyone besides a weapon to be used at their disposal. I thought I would be sick.

"I don't want that to happen to another one of my precious people." She whispered, bringing me out of whatever I was thinking. I watched her for a moment or two intently. She looked down at her hands. It was as if she could still see the blood there. Smell it. Feel it. I took in a deep breath.

"I'm going to regret this. It's gonna be hard." I told myself as I stood up from my seat. I grabbed her hands with my own, shielding them from her view. She looked at me for a moment, trying to predict my next move. We could have been great together. We could have been anything. Could have. I gave her hand a quick kiss.

"I understand." I repeated for the third time. I took a step towards her. She didn't grimace or stiffen. She had finally come to trust me.

"But I don't see us together." I told her gently, nearly in a whisper. "Like it was before, it's only a memory. It can never come back. Memories can never come back." I told her, hoping that those words would comfort her and leave her able to move on in her life. She looked at me and nodded.

"Okay." She agreed, with a small nod of her head. "If that's what will make you happy, let it be."
I gave her a tight, friendly hug before turning to the door. Opening it, I turned around to face her one last time.

"See you later." I told her, hoping it was true.
"If you get into trouble don't be afraid to call me, crybaby." She told me as she smirked. I turned and left, going next door after a quick smirk to my ex. I was going to check on Ino and make sure that she was doing well. What greeted me was not what I expected. Ino was still asleep. It was quite odd for her since she was pretty fast at recovering.

Since she was asleep I decided that I would come back later, making a mental note to check in on her tomorrow. I shut her door quietly and walked down the hall to the nurses station to ask them about her progress. They were usually fairly good at giving me the information I wanted, seeing I was her teammate and really the only one able to understand any medical lingo.
I decided to see if Shino was up for some Shoji.

He was, unofficially, my new partner since Asuma-Sensei died. I think about all that's happened and how much I've grown from it. I just wish that Asuma-Sensei hadn't had to have paid the price.

(Time skip: one day)

The next day I woke up bright and early. It was the day I was supposed to go visit Ino. I was happy as I was going to get to see what she wanted to tell me yesterday, before Temari showed up. I ate an early breakfast before my mother showed up to scold me for yesterday. It was a sport between her and my father to see who could make me feel guiltier. I headed out the door to go to my early hospital visit.

On my way there I ran into Neji. It was weird, Neji was never out in public unless it involved training. He was acting rather weird blushing and mumbling. Watching him, I'd seen Hinata join up with him and hand him a bag of Smarties, inconspicuously. Neji apparently had a candy fixation that he wanted no one to know about.
Finally, I continued in to the Hospital to visit Ino.

To be continued…

A/N: Again sorry for the short chapter. But it will get longer. I wanted to put these in segments. Just for the plots sake. And again thanks to everyone.