Fourth Wish (Pt. 1)
"Thanks for walking me home you two"
The female genie continued to stare at the mansion in awe, amazed by the large size of the building (…heck, it was even bigger than any of her previous masters homes COMBINED!). Shikamaru secretly rolled his eyes and had to elbow the girl in the ribs to get her attention. Hinata giggled and watched as the two quietly exchanged threats.
Ignoring the idiot beside her Ino gave the azure-haired girl a few words of thanks before turning back to head home. It wasn't until she had walked a couple of paces from the front steps when she realized that Shikamaru was not beside her. Taking a quick peek behind her she noticed that the two friends were caught up in a light conversation. She watched as Hinata whispered something in his ear that caused the boy to blush hotly in response. Ignoring the slight pull on her chest she smiled fondly and decided to leave the two alone. Carrying her shopping bags she started towards the gates to wait for her master.
Ino placed her bags at her sides and slowly slid down the stone wall. She squinted hard when her vision began to blur and tiredly leaned the back of her head against the cold concrete. The genie closed her eyes and gave a small sigh as she waited for deer boy.
Shikamaru came to a conclusion that it was time to hightail it outta here and politely bid Hinata goodnight (after catching sight of a mysterious lurking figure with strangely familiar long hair watching from the third floor window). Quickly scurrying out of the Hyuuga estate and harm's way, he was surprised to find his genie sitting alone on the ground just outside the gates.
"Sorry for the wait…" he apologized after checking behind him to look out for any signs of overprotective cousins. He inwardly sighed and was thankful to report that he was safe (for now).
When the magical being gave no response Shikamaru gave her a confused look, thinking that she hadn't heard him.
"Ino?"
It surprised him when he realized that this was actually the first time he had spoken her name since the time he had freed her from her slumber. Walking towards the blonde he paused mid-step when something caught his eye. Rubbing his eyes he stared at her again to find that she looked like her normal self. Odd, since just seconds ago he could have sworn her body form seemed to flicker like the static you get from a broken TV…
…Probably just the moonlight…
"Oi…Are you okay?" Shikamaru inquired when he noticed the half-lidded dazed look in her eyes. Waving his hand in front of her he knitted his brows in annoyance when she didn't respond. Shikamaru tried calling her name again but the results remained constant.
His eyes widened in alarm once the blonde's head started to droop off to the side.
"INO!"
The genie shot up in surprise, her whole body in guard mode. Focusing her blurred vision on Shikamaru she gave a loud groan, slightly annoyed that it was just him and not some life or death emergency. The wish granter rubbed her head and sat up against the stone wall.
"What is it? D'you want me to grant you a wish?" she groaned sleepily as the pulsing aches finally subsided. She closed her eyes in exhaustion.
Shikamaru shook his head and leaned against the wall next to her.
"You really want to get rid of me that bad huh?"
Ino opened her eyes and brought one of her knees to her chest. She draped her arm across her knee and gave him a small look before returning her eyes at the ground.
"I didn't mean it like that…" she started quietly, not even knowing where the hurt in her voice had come from.
Shikamaru noticed the pained expression on her face and crouched down beside her. Placing his palm on her forehead, his brows knitted worriedly.
"You okay? You look a little pale…"
Ino shook her head and swatted his hand away from her forehead, ignoring the tingling sensation his hand had imprinted on her skin. Shikamaru said nothing and stood up from his spot. Ino blinked the tiredness from her eyes.
"I'm fine. I just need a little sleep and then I'll be as good as new!" she exclaimed cheerfully but the fatigue in her voice told him otherwise.
Ino met his concerned gaze and gave him a reassuring smile. She held her hand out to him.
"Help me up so we can go home"
Shikamaru stared at her hand before accepting her request and pulling her up. Ino swayed a bit and placed her hand on his arm for balance. Sighing tiredly she moved to pick up her bags and was surprised when she was intercepted by Shikamaru. Meeting his eyes she gave him a sheepish smile and the two continued their walk home.
The genie yawned as the night air brushed against her cheeks. Lately she seemed to be getting more tired by the day. She sighed in relief when they spotted an unoccupied bench amongst the bustling crowd at the train station. Ino frowned and began to rub soothing circles around her temple as she sat down.
"I'm fine" she spoke over the loud noise before Shikamaru even had the chance to voice his concern. The shirker momentarily wondered how she could've possibly known what he was going to say but remembered her mind reading trick. Forced to leave the topic regarding the genie's state, Shikamaru relaxed in his seat and waited for their train to arrive. A comforting silence had settled between the two and Shikamaru was almost convinced that Ino had fallen asleep until he heard her soft voice.
"Do you remember the genie rules I recited when we met?" she whispered loud enough for only him to hear. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling absentmindedly.
Shikamaru spared her a glance before nodding slowly, "Yeah. What about it?"
Ino met his gaze briefly and looked away once again.
"Rule two, the one about manipulating people's hearts…what I said about it was true…but there's many loopholes to it…" she explained casually.
Meeting Shikamaru's clueless expression the genie sighed. A short silence overcame them again and they watched as people piled out of the newly arrived train.
"What I'm trying to say is that you can make wishes that can lead you to winning Hinata's heart" she suggested and observed the white-collared workers enter the train with cell phones glued to their ears.
Ino smirked when the boy's face turned a nice shade of pink.
"I mean…you can wish for a chance to be alone with her or something like that. It's not against the rules…" Ino started softly. Shikamaru fought down his blush and shook his head at her proposal.
"Don't even think about it. My feelings for Hinata is something that I'll take to my grave" he stated flatly. Ino frowned and straightened up her posture, tossing her ponytail behind her shoulder.
"What? Why?"
When the boy refused to answer Ino sighed once again.
"Oh come on! Don't tell me it's because of some lame excuse like being afraid of rejection…" she accused and crossed her arms knowingly while shaking her head. Shikamaru snorted and met her cerulean orbs.
"Wrong. It's because I know that she doesn't see me that way. Plus, she has someone she likes already" he rolled his eyes. Ino scowled and waited for the train passengers to leave the station before replying again.
"So what? You're just going to give up that easily? And don't give me that 'her happiness is my happiness' bull crap. You can't just think about her feelings, you need to think about yours too. Be selfish for once! Seize the opportunity!"
The shirker sighed and managed not to slap his forehead. He ushered for the girl to sit down when they were beginning to receive an audience.
"Even if what you say is true, it's a lot easier said then done." Shikamaru began quietly and scooted forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his thighs. He brought his hands out of his pockets and clasped them together, rubbing his thumbs in a contemplative silence.
"You need to count the risks and the other person's feelings. You can't just act selfishly. You've seen how Hinata is so you should understand me a little. If I were to confess to her she wouldn't know how to reject me. She's too kind. She'd probably agree to date me just so she wouldn't hurt my feelings" he confessed as he stared out towards the train tracks. Ino had a feeling he wasn't really watching the steel tracks but instead envisioning the cloudy-eyed girl at the moment. She ignored the small pang in her chest. She snapped from her thoughts when the boy beside her began to chuckle. "Or she would faint and wake up with a high fever" he added amusingly.
Ino raised a brow.
"You sound like you know that from experience…"
Shikamaru clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back against the bench.
"Cuz it is. You've seen Inuzuka Kiba right?" he suddenly questioned and threw her a side glance. Ino tapped her chin thoughtfully as she recalled her memories.
"Oh! Yeah. The guy with the dog right?"
Shikamaru nodded and averted his gaze back at the steel tracks.
"Well…Kiba's the type that can be a little…straight forward with his feelings…"
Ino allowed a small gape to grace her features when the gears in her mind clicked calculatingly.
"No way. He confessed to Hinata?"
Shikamaru grinned in amusement when he recollected his thoughts.
"Yeah. Hinata was so embarrassed that she fainted on the spot. She woke up the next day with a fever…Kiba was so upset. He kept blaming himself for the incident. Hinata's cousin even went as far as trying to chase down the idiot, yelling something about 'skinning a mutt alive'…" he laughed. Ino smiled unknowingly. Shikamaru's smiles were oddly contagious…
"Anyway, Hinata managed to stop Neji from killing Kiba in the end"
Ino tilted her head to the side.
"So…she and Kiba…?" she asked with uncertainty, uncertain if she should press the matter further.
Shikamaru shook his head.
"No, they're just friends. When Hinata was sick, she was a total mess and wasn't sure how to reply to Kiba's feelings. And it's a common scenario for people to always come to me for advice. It's like they assume just because I'm smart I know everything…" he rolled his eyes.
Ino kept her eyes trained on his face and brought her feet to rest on the bench. She tucked her knees underneath her chin as she continued to listen to him.
"So I got Hinata to calm down and think about her feelings clearly. When she was sure she had no feelings for Kiba I suggested that I could break it easy to him but she wanted to tell him herself."
Shikamaru paused as if reliving the memory.
"Kiba hasn't given up on his feelings yet but Hinata knows how to handle him so it's alright with me…I feel sorry for Kiba though since he gets a beating from Neji at least twice a week" he added and shook his head shamefully. Ino blinked in surprise.
"So…wait…if Kiba's not the one she likes…then…?"
Shikamaru yawned leisurely. It was odd for him to speak this much…
"Ah. It's probably Naruto"
The blonde felt her jaw drop.
"Na-Naruto?! You!--You mean to tell me you lost out to that…that hyperactive squinty-faced thing?!" she screeched in a pitchy tone.
She didn't regret her words until a thick stillness had blanketed across the train station. Ino knew people were going to start staring (heck, they already were!) but what she didn't expect was for Shikamaru to begin laughing at her comment. Hearing the boy's laughter made her stomach lurch strangely and she felt her face starting to grow warm. Ignoring the confused bystanders Ino cleared her throat and sat back down, hiding her face under the curtain of her bangs. When a new train arrived and the train station became less packed she decided to speak again.
"I'm sorry…that was insensitive of me…" she muttered silently in embarrassment.
Shikamaru managed to suppress his laughter and he threw her a warm smile.
"Don't worry about it. I've already accepted that fact a long time ago" he joked. He brought his eyes to the ceiling, wondering if he should mention her unusually 'nice' behavior. He inwardly shrugged and decided against it. After all, it wasn't everyday when he got to see Ino act civilized for once…
Ino stared at the hands in her lap and sighed.
"Although…to me, that's kind of sad…" she said softly, "…not being able to tell someone your feelings…"
It took Shikamaru some time to stomach down his surprise and his eyes softened.
"You sound like you know this from experience…"
Ino blinked and couldn't help but gawk at his words.
"Wha-What? No! Er. I mean…I've never really known anyone long enough to have feelings for…so…so…" she defended wholeheartedly while wondering why she was acting like a foolish school girl.
Shikamaru paused when a question formed in his head.
"Wait…can genies reproduce?"
Despite her previous nervous state Ino laughed at the question.
"No, they can't. Surprisingly, I hear genies are supposed to be emotionless beings…with the odd exception of me of course"
The boy looked thoughtful.
"What do you mean by 'I hear'?"
Ino shrugged.
"Well, since genies are beings forever trapped inside objects, they have no knowledge of other genies. So I could be the only genie for all I know…but my friend has met some, at least that's what she tells me, and she says that all of them are, and I quote; emotionless jerks"
"I thought you said that you've never had a chance to meet anyone long enough to even make friends with?"
Ino scratched her head sheepishly.
"Well…it's sort of complicated. But all I can say is that she's not a genie but a magical being as well"
Shikamaru nodded slowly as if the information had actually made sense to him. Which, of course it did not. Ino stared absentmindedly as the next train arrived and she momentarily recalled her past.
She sighed at a particular memory and folded her hands in her lap, staring down at them quietly.
"But I'm grateful to her...she always manages to track me down after I'm assigned a new master to come help me. She helped me out a lot when I was with my other previous masters and she keeps them from doing things to me…"
Shikamaru didn't even need to ask to know about the things the genie was talking about.
The blonde shivered involuntarily and Shikamaru was sure it wasn't from the night air either. The genie's eyes moved to the arriving train and she sat up abruptly.
"Our train's here" she announced suddenly, trying to mask the coldness in her voice.
Ino closed her eyes and tried to shut away all of the negative emotions that spurred from remembering her past. Giving a shaky breath she stepped forward towards the train but paused when she felt a hand grab at her wrist.
She turned and gave Shikamaru a confused look.
He gave her a lazy grin.
"Actually, I change my mind…the night's still pretty young…"
Ignoring the genie's confused "Huh?" Shikamaru began to drag her away from the train station…
X
O
X
Ino's cerulean orbs stared up at the man in confusion, partially hiding herself behind Shikamaru's back for safety measures.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" the man shot angrily as he rubbed his eyes, ignoring his shirtless state. Shikamaru did not falter at his words but instead held out his hand.
"Come on Asuma-sensei, I hardly ever ask you for favors. And it's only 11 P.M old man, I'll return the keys tomorrow" he reassured.
Asuma threw him a glare and rubbed his temples.
"Now, please enlighten me with the reason of why in the world would I even think of fulfilling your request. Have you consumed a large amount of alcoholic beverages recently?"
"Uh…Shikamaru…" Ino cut in after seeing the anger that flashed across the man's rugged face.
"Look, I don't care if it's to fulfill a person's dying wish or to impress some…" Asuma glanced at Ino, "chick…" and then back at his pupil. "But you're not going to get these keys"
Shikamaru frowned and lowered his hand slightly.
"Now, does someone want me to tell Kurenai-sensei about a certain incident?"
Asuma's once indestructible resolve cracked before his eyes and he pressed his brows together.
"You wouldn't" he growled threateningly.
Shikamaru smirked.
"Just try me" he pressed.
Asuma cursed, looked the boy in the eye, and slammed the door in their faces. Ino blinked in surprise and was about to ask Shikamaru to leave when all of a sudden the door opened again and a set of keys was thrust into the deer boy's hands.
"You have until tomorrow night to return them" Asuma threatened icily before slamming the door once again.
Shikamaru grinned. "Thanks sensei!" he shouted towards the door and grabbed Ino's hand in his, leading her away from the Sarutobi residence.
X
O
X
The genie frowned as they got off the train and headed towards the direction of the mall they had been at just this afternoon.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Ino questioned as they walked the perimeter of the large mall. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and fingered the keys in his pockets.
"Keep you're pants on, we're almost there" he stated in annoyance. Dragging around this loud mouthed genie for the rest of the night had not been in his agenda this morning thank you very much.
Ino couldn't help but look at the hand holding hers and she had to stop her thoughts from straying down a dangerouspath. She shuttered at the thought and tried to keep her mind occupied with other things.
She was relieved when Shikamaru let go of her hand and she watched him in puzzlement when he used the keys Asuma had given him to unlock the padlock chained around a large iron gate. Bringing her eyes to the sign above the gate her mind went completely blank and her lips parted dryly.
Shikamaru grunted when the stubborn lock finally clicked open and he removed it along with the chains around the gate. Grabbing hold of one of the bars on the gate he forced the entrance open with a loud creak.
He arched a brow when Ino remained standing motionlessly in front of the entrance.
"Well, are you coming in or what?" he asked bluntly. Ino's eyes slowly traveled to his face.
"I--you…I…" she stammered stupidly. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Do you want to go home instead?"
Shaking her head idiotically Ino managed to stumble beyond the gate.
"Wait here" Shikamaru ordered as he walked inside the small building to their right. Ino nodded meekly, barely registering what he had just said. She hesitantly took a step forward and tried to pick out the objects in the dark. She couldn't even believe she was actually here! Shikamaru wasn't capable of being THIS NICE to someone! Especially to someone like her who had been doing nothing but using him the pass week she'd stayed here! She didn't deserve this! Maybe this was just a ridiculously good dream…or…or she was hallucinating! That had to be it! This was just too absurd! There were limits to how nice a person could be…This was…This was--!
Suddenly, a loud click echoed through the dark night and light carnival music began playing through the black speakers. One by one the theme park rides came to life in all sorts of vivid neon colors. The clanks of the rollercoaster could be heard towing empty cars up the tracks. The small Ferris wheel could be seen flashing colors of red, blue, green and yellow in the distance. The spinning teacups twirled endlessly in colorful blurs. The merry-go-round was slowly spinning to the sound of childish music.
Shikamaru came out a moment later after all the rides had started up. He took a second to observe the scene.
"Hm. I never did like theme parks. But I guess it's sort of cool to have the whole place to yourself…" he spoke mindlessly.
He turned to face Ino and noticed that her stare had turned into an outright gawk.
Before Shikamaru could attempt to speak some sense into the blonde, Ino surprisingly turned towards him, a look of seriousness on her face.
"You--just for a sec…can I…can I just hug you right now?"
Without even examining the boy's shocked expression or acknowledging his answer, the genie wordlessly threw herself against his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Shikamaru backed up from the sudden force and wrapped his arms around the girl's waist to keep their balance. He felt Ino breathe a happy sigh against his neck before releasing her hold on him. She smiled at him before turning towards the games, her cerulean eyes twinkling excitedly. Pausing when she felt Shikamaru's stare on her back Ino waved at him from one of the game booths.
"What're you waiting for?! Let's go play ALL of them!!" she laughed and gave him a broad smile full of childish excitement. The blonde turned away and rushed towards the water squirting game.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets Shikamaru fought down the blush staining his cheeks and silently trailed after the eager genie.
He couldn't help but think that…
…he sort of liked it when she smiled at him like that…
Don't shoot me. I know it is absolutely impossible for a carnival/mini theme park to start up by just flipping ONE switch. But come on! This is fiction okay? :D
Aww the fluffiness!
Wish 4 will probably be split into 3-4 parts…because if I don't the chapters won't correspond with the number of wishes Shikamaru has made (remember, he gets 5 wishes!).
The more you review the faster the update!!
