A/N: This chapter was so hard to write! I started 3 times until I got it satisfying. And it still sucks. One of my worst pieces of writing.
I dedicate it to my favorite, smart, active members of Troublesome Love, a ShikaIno forum: Crystal Koneko, kk200792, Karrie, Spiritt, Valentine, IchaIchasama. I adore you, guys. Sorry you have such craptastic chapter dedicated to you, but, hey, all my writing are silly and stupid.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"Ino-chan, shouldn't we meet up with Sakura as well?"
The blonde stiffed, looking at her female companion with a surprised look. A small, almost invisible scowl appeared and she averted her eyes to the left side of the road they were currently strolling on.
"I talked with her yesterday. Seems like she doesn't want to meet with us anymore." Ino answered curtly, ignoring the guilty thoughts.
"Why? Sakura was always so eager to join us in everything we did. What's the sudden change?" Yume, the one with long, brown hair inquired, trying to catch Ino's eyes. "Did you two have a fallout or something?"
"Well...actually, yes. A small misunderstanding." The blonde replied, shifting slightly, uneasily, the memory of yesterday still burning her heart.
Don't try to remember. Forget it. The less you think about it, the sooner you forget.
"Wow...it's the first time in years that you two argued! About what?" The slightly tomboyish Ahiru asked, curiously watching her friend for any more details.
Slowly, forming words and sentences through the tight throat, the blonde told them everything that happened, leaving out the encounter with Shikamaru and how strongly she felt about this whole ordeal.
A kunoichi can't be weak. Especially not in front of others. Sensei always taught us that.
When she was finished, a strange silence fell over the group. Full of unspoken things, various accusations...full of tension.
"What? Y-you don't believe me?" Ino sputtered, looking with wide eyes as her two companions exchanged doubtful glances with each other.
"Well, Ino-chan... You have to admit it doesn't suit Sakura. Are you sure you didn't overreact or imagined the whole situation?" Yume asked, trying to ease the already torn nerves of the blonde. Her words only caused tightening of small, pale hands.
"Yea. It sounds more like something you would do, Ino-chan." Ahiru added, not beating around the bush as always. Yume looked at her with slight fear, then nodded.
Ino stared at them, unable to believe the words directed at her. "You're taking her side? After everything I told you, you still defend her?"
"We're not taking anyone's side. Don't mess us into this whole 'Sasuke-kun' thing." Ahiru spoke, silencing the Yamanaka. "It was kind of irritating how you always gushed about him, anyway. You probably kept hurting Sakura with that talk of yours and now you decided to end your friendship. You were always a little selfish, Ino. Face it."
"But...You've got it all wrong..."
He said they liked me the way I was! With my flaws and everything...He...
"You've got it all wrong..." The soft whisper seemed to go unnoticed by her two friends.
"Sakura-chan is always so cheerful and nice. It was fun to be with her." Both, Yume and Ahiru took few steps backwards, away from Ino.
"Besides, we like Sasuke-kun as well. Maybe it's not as obsessive as your love, Ino-chan... But nevertheless, he's the most popular boy in our school." They turned their back to Ino, letting her watch them in stunned silence.
"Until you apologize to Sakura-chan...We can't be back to things like they used to be."
"Yea. If you broke your friendship with Sakura, you might as well break it with us. We like Sasuke-kun as well, you know."
Ino watched them go, new tears forming in her eyes. She narrowed blue orbs angrily.
"Fine! Then go! W-we could be great friends, even if we all liked the same boy! We could all talk about Sasuke and never get bored and when finally he would chose someone from our group, the rest would be happy! But if you really hate it that way...Then go!"
Her shout remained unanswered, single leaves and sakura petals flowing in the scenery. She sniffed, before heading home, with head proudly raised.
If they could do it, so could she. No big deal.
The pain returned.
Shikamaru, you liar, I hate you!
And this time there was no one to ease it.
The next morning, Ino strolled to a certain lazy genius and slapped him right in the face, putting all her hatred into that one hit. She kept yelling what a jerk he was and how she despised him, completely ignoring her hoarse throat after crying into the pillow during the last night.
Of course, the boy was too stunned and lazy to even respond to such a powerful outburst. He just kept staring at her stomping figure when she headed to the girl's bathroom, with a storm inside her mind and heart. She never noticed the mixture of deep, painful hatred in his glare, just like she never acknowledged the tightly clenched fabric, on the left side of his chest, where his heart beat.
She hated him not because he lied about those girls. She hated him because he lied about himself, liking her the way she was- which caused great pain to erupt inside her, burning with every throb of her aorta. An ache she couldn't get used to living with.
She knew that one day, no matter if she tried to keep away from him (because even then, there was the knowledge that she could always come back to him any time she needed), Shikamaru will walk away from her life forever, with no chance for her to go to him and once again hear some soothing lies.
Nara Shikamaru will depart from her life, carrying a part of Ino with him, just like Sakura took the blonde's pure feeling towards Sasuke.
What important part of her Shikamaru would take, Ino didn't know.
A/N: This chapter is so short and crappy. Sorry for that. In the end, it's completely different from what I planned it to be. Please tell me what do you think of it- if it fits the actual story line, is everyone in-character and such. PLEASE!
The inspiration came much after reading Ino bashing on various forums. It pisses me off how people tend to ignore that Ino suffered much more than Sakura after breaking their friendship- she cried, while to Sakura, it was some kind of competition. I mean, she cried! Also, many people think that Ino broke their friendship- Well, hello, Sakura did it!
Most important of all- I apologize for the chapter. I always wondered why the girls Ino used to be friends with, weren't with her anymore- here's my sort of explanation. Crappy, I know. And the last scene- Yea, I'm aware it sucks, it's confusing and all- I know what I wanted to tell...I simply couldn't find the right words. Well, there you go there. My deepest apologies!
Note: The names of Ino's friends were made up by me. I recently watched Princess Tutu and there's the source of them.