A/N: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read these chapters. This is the last of the young history between Shikamaru and Ino. Chapter 3 will see them in Junior High at fourteen years old and Shikamaru's romantic feelings are going to begin to develop. This is another cute chapter establishing the closeness of the two sense birth. Please read and enjoy.

Chapter 2

The recess bell rang and a flood of children exited the building in an unorganized, hyper mass. At the age of six, Shikamaru and Ino were entirely new to the experience of elementary school.

Shikamaru had been reserved while he sat next to Ino, the only person that he knew, and wished for the entire morning that he could go back home to his comfort zone. The only thing keeping him from leaving was Ino. She was so excited to be there, making new friends and helping to answer questions that Ayame Sensei asked. She was being brave, and Shikamaru didn't want her to see that he was uneasy. She would make fun of him for sure if he ran away… So he sat there with a defensive scowl on his face, much like his father, and kept a close eye on Ino.

Things had changed considerably over the last two years. He was now six and a half and he felt he knew everything about everything. He was still a wiseass when he was comfortable around the people he was sassing, but he no longer picked on Ino. After all, she was his best friend and you just don't pick on your best friends. It wasn't chivalrous! That word meant something to him now; now that he had to protect Ino like a man does!

"Come on, Shika! Let's go swing!" Ino cheered, grabbing onto his hand and dragging him outside.

Shikamaru blushed cutely while he was being forced along by the little blond. He didn't mind being dragged around, but he had already started to get picked on by the other kids in his class for willingly sitting next to a girl.

"Don't you know!?" a boy named Naruto exclaimed before the class had been called to attention earlier that morning.

"Know what?" Shikamaru had asked curiously with a guarded expression.

"Girls have cooties!" Naruto had shouted before being ribbed violently by a pink haired girl named Sakura, "What?! It's true!" he protested vehemently to laughter from the class.

Now Shikamaru didn't know what cooties were, but he was fairly certain that Ino of all people didn't have any. She was too nice and way too fun to have cooties!

"What're you thinkin'?" Ino asked when she released his hand to take the nearest swing.

"Nothin'." Shikamaru answered lamely as he stood at the spot that Ino had released his hand to watch her swing.

"Fibber!" she shouted at him with a smile, "You're always thinkin'. That's why you're so quiet!" she cheered out while she began to gain speed and height on the swing.

Shikamaru grinned back for a moment before returning his expression to his customary frown. Ino was right; he had also learned in the last two years to keep his rude mouth shut. He had finally gotten it knocked into his head by his mother. He now chose to think about mean things to say instead of vocalizing them.

Ino hooted and hollered loudly, enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through her hair. Her little barrettes that had been keeping back her bangs were now hanging limply at the tips of her hair, barley managing to hold on. She glanced down at Shikamaru and smiled widely, loving his company and the fact that she had all of his attention!

After he pushed her off of the big wheel, he had come to her the following day and apologized.

"My mom told me to apologize for pushing you," he had grumbled out, "she said that you're my princess and I need to protect you."

Ino had cheered loudly at being called a princess and, after that moment, the two of them became inseparable.

"Don't you wanna swing?!" she cheered happily, leaning back and kicking her feet forward to gain further momentum.

"Not really," Shikamaru answered, his head moving back and forth as he watched Ino swing.

"How come?!" Ino giggled with a curious expression.

"I don't like going high," Shikamaru supplied to a noise of understanding from Ino.

"'Cause you're a chicken."

Their attention was drawn to a smug looking boy with pale lavender eyes and black hair.

"He is not a chicken!" Ino shouted at the boy angrily. Her glare was dangerous as she wordlessly dared him to say it again.

"Is too," he smirked, approaching the two with his arms folded across his chest.

Shikamaru continued to stand there, his eyes downcast and an angry frown on his face. He didn't like this boy calling him a chicken, but he didn't want to pick a fight with him. He looked older and like he could handle himself if he got into a scuffle.

"You take that back!" Ino shouted, the sound of her feet scraping against the ground while she dismounted the swing drawing Shikamaru's attention back to her.

"Make me," the lavender eyed boy sneered as Ino stomped her way over to him, an adorable scowl scrunching up her face.

"Ino, don't," Shikamaru implored quietly before he reached out for her arm to draw her away from the brute.

She shook him off quickly enough and came to stand before the lavender eyed boy, "You take that back!" she shouted again, her face becoming red with her anger, "Shika is not a chicken! He is the bravest boy I know!"

"That's not saying much," lavender eyes jabbed, a scowl of irritation forming on his features when Ino came into his personal space.

Why was this boy being so mean?! Shikamaru didn't do anything to him! He was just standing there, watching her swing as if it were the only thing in the world that he wanted to be doing at that moment, and this mean boy had to come along and start picking on him!

Ino felt furious and began to stomp her little foot on the ground before she felt a pair of hands push roughly at her shoulders. Her eyes widened in surprise while she flailed back momentarily before landing roughly on her bottom.

She blinked up at the lavender eyed boy, her expression switching on a dime to one of hurt as she felt a few twigs digging into her skin and her bottom throbbing with pain. She could feel tears building up in her eyes and let them loose with a howling wail of cries.

In an instant, Shikamaru had a hold of the lavender eyed boy's shirt and he pushed him up against the nearest tree with an enraged expression on his face. He had hurt Ino! He had hurt his princess and he was going to defend her honor to the death! The lavender eyed boy pushed back roughly, but couldn't shove Shikamaru back far enough before the younger boy's fist connected with his cheek. A violent brawl of punching, kicking and hair pulling ensued as Ino continued to cry loudly on the ground.

After only a few moments, they had drawn a crowd of onlookers as they cheered on the boys into further violence. Another minute later and several teachers were breaking up the fight, pulling Shikamaru up off of the lavender eyed boy before he could land another hit.

Half an hour later found the three of them in the principal's office after a trip to the nurse to patch them all up. The lavender eyed boy, now known to the pair as Hyuga Neji, was in far worse shape than Shikamaru as he was sporting several bruises on his left cheek and jaw. No one pushed Ino and got away with it!

The principal, whom they all knew now as Sarutobi Hiruzen, was glaring at them with a tired look on his wrinkled face. He seemed much too old to be dealing with a buch of ruffian kids and he wanted to put this issue to rest immediately.

"He started it!" Ino shouted, pointing a band aid wrapped finger at Neji who just scowled back at her angrily.

"I don't care who started it," Sarutobi-Sensei grumbled, "but it had better not happen again. Am I making myself very clear?"

All three children nodded fervently before they were excused from the office with a wave of the old man's hand.

"I'm getting too old for this," Hiruzen grumbled, continuing about his previous task before he had been interrupted by the three mischievous little children.

A/N: Ahhh! So cute! I love chibi ShikaIno! Please review and tell me what you think. I am also writing another ShikaIno AU called Success Story so if you like my writing style, or just adore the ShikaIno pair like I obviously do, then please go take a look at it.