Chapter Four

Freezing; Ino was as cold as ice. Shikamaru had yet to turn blue, still semi warm. The layers of clothing helped him greatly during the journey and served the purpose now.

The ship he took to cross the ocean after his quick travel had been crowded with nearly fifteen people, so body heat had kept him stewed. Shikamaru had nearly roasted himself, only beginning to feel the chill when he reached the mountains. Now, though, nearly two hours after the door had been buckled down, he sat in a, holding Ino against him. They were both wrapped beneath the blankets now, and he managed to get her to move her limbs a bit, out of fear that the joints would freeze up.

Ino was still unconscious, only vaguely aware that someone was with her. Shikamaru instructed her to wiggle her feet, stretch out her legs, and flex her arms, which she did sluggishly.

He winced as the pressure from Ino's elbow become too much for him.

"Ino," he said, keeping his voice quite (far too afraid to cause some sort of avalanche). "Can you try moving this arm?"

He gently squeezed her left bicep.

She groaned. After a few seconds, she shifted her arm. She did this clumsily, and flopped it down only a second after the attempt. It landed in a very unflattering way. Not to mention awkward.

Shikamaru's eyes widened briefly as her hand landed on his upper thigh.

"Ino," he frowned.

He got no reply and began to scoot up the wall, hoping to knock the hand away. The task managed to work, but where the hand landed was no better.

"Oh man, this is such a drag. Ino, move your hand!"

He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks.

Whimpering as she did so, Ino's hand came to rest on the floor beside of Shikamaru's buttock.

Well, at least it was progress, Shikamaru thought, the flush leaving him.

"That a girl," he said, shifting his slowly numbing leg.

This sitting position wasn't working at all; maybe it was working for her, but he was suffering badly.

"Oi, Ino, we need to move."

He wasn't even sure if she was listening anymore. His teeth began to chatter. He sighed and gathered her up in his arms.

Once he had her in a comfortable position, he slid up the wall (which was actually the ceiling). His legs were tingling, making it hard for him to remain balanced. Shikamaru hated the feeling of something falling asleep. Usually he would stomp his foot; however, seeing as he would more than likely drop Ino if he did so, Shikamaru groaned and bared his teeth, telling himself to deal with the annoyance. He began to slowly move forward, turning to face a narrow hallway.

If this was the dinning area, he noted, then beyond was either the seating area, kitchen, or the furnace room. If it was the furnace room, then there was hope for them yet.

His sandal snagged on a piece of metal from the window. He nearly fell over. He caught himself and walked forward. To his dismay the room beyond was the seating area.

It was dark, very dark.

Narrowing his eyes down, Shikamaru tried to keep balance and reach the space between the upturned pews. His foot thumped against something and he heard a sickening squish sound.

His eyes flew open. He realized he had just kicked a body. Wrinkling his nose, Shikamaru looked up, narrowing his eyes. What he saw made him gasp.

Bodies were everywhere. All forty, if his count was on par. Each one was piled between the pews.

Looking back over his shoulder, Shikamaru decided that this was the worst place to stay. The odor of freezing blood did wonders for his already queasy stomach. Whispering a curse, he began to turn around but suddenly thought better of it. Trying his best, he glared ahead, trying to see the next room. The door was turned up in the air, impossible to get Ino through, since she was not awake enough to hold onto his back.

Frowning deeper, he shifted Ino and turned back.

Stepping back into the other room, he heard Ino's sobbing whimper and frowned down at her. When he looked back up, he began to make his way over to the tables and what looked like a table cloth.

A light clicked on in his head, and he quickly made his way over.

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Tsunade watched out the window as the snow continued pouring. The frown lines on her face deepened. She gripped the edge of the window seal.

"What was he thinking?" she asked in a deadly whisper.

Taking a deep breath, she watched the team of junin as well Naruto head quickly towards the gate. She hoped to the heavens that they would find those two and come back safely. By the time they reached Yuki, warmed up so that they wouldn't die, and gathered a search party, Tsunade knew that Shikamaru and Ino could be dead. Tsunade's grip on the window tightened, and a drop of blood dripped from her bent finger nail.

"That's not going to help anything," a deep voice said from behind.

She scowled.

"Don't tell me what's going to help my nerves, Jiraiya."

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By the time Shikamaru laid out the table cloth, Ino opened her eyes, seeming to recognize him, but closing her eyes all too soon. He had grown slightly colder as he brought Ino over to the folded cloth. Laying her down, he remained over top of her, one arm propping him up. He used the other hand to feel for a pulse. It was weak.

Breathing a hot gust of air through his nostrils and onto Ino's forehead, Shikamaru furrowed his brow.

"Don't you die on me, you troublesome woman," he said, pushing up to sit beside of Ino.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Shikamaru tilted his hands and pressed his fingers together. He closed his eyes.

Shikamaru's mind shifted through ideas, none seeming usable. Using a trigger bomb to blast out would never work, likely killing them. He could leave Ino here and go looking around for the furnace room, fixing ways to get her there also, but he really didn't think leaving her was a good idea. Besides, what use was a furnace if you couldn't light it? Sure, the heat would be there for a few hours, but then it would go out. Maybe it wasn't even warm anymore. After all, it had been a full day and a half now. He tossed those ideas and began focusing on what he had in front of him.

And just what did he have? He had: himself, what he was wearing, Ino, and the blankets. He also had a (now frozen) thermos hooked to his pocket and the wood from the tables. Ah yes, now he had something to work with.

The wood could be used to make a fire; however, where would the smoke go? They would smother, unless he alternated between a fire and none, airing the place out by waving around a coat. That would work for a bit. But what to do when the fires were out? He went back to the other things at hand.

The blankets, those were good, but not nearly enough, considering the temperature. But combine them with layers of clothing and you were getting warmer. Still it wasn't going to be enough. He sighed.

What was the best way to keep warm?

His mind snapped back to his the boat. All of those people. The body heat. Yes! Body heat was the most effective way to keep people warm.

They would be okay for a while, but what of them when they were out of fire wood? He supposed he could find other things once Ino woke up (because she was going to wake up for good, he told himself).

Okay, so keeping warm was down. Now food.

He had no idea how long they were going to be in here, or if they would ever get out. Hopefully Choji had told Naruto because Shikamaru knew that out of everyone, Naruto would blab. Shikamaru welcomed it. Hopefully people were on their way to find him and Ino. But Shikamaru didn't hope for much, seeing as Tsunade hadn't sent anyone for Ino. Naruto surely would talk her into it, though. So until then what was he and Ino to eat and drink? No way was he feeding off of those dead corpses. Maybe if he could find the kitchen once Ino was away. . . Surely there would be a few things in there that didn't need to be cooked. Cooking would only clog up the already thinning air.

Okay, food down. Now bathroom.

The two of them would definitely need one, so he guessed the seating area would just have to do. Nasty but effective. Done with that.

He had assessed everything to the best of his knowledge. Once Ino was awake, they would talk things through.

Coughing into his hand, Shikamaru looked down at Ino. Man was she ever pale. Ino was never this pale, and he knew it to be a bad sign. He needed to warm her up quickly. Standing, he made his way to one of the tables. It didn't take him long to hack a few pieces off and walk back to the foot of their bed.

Creating a fire proved to be harder than he had first thought, due to the lack of anything but metal beneath them. He managed to find things which helped, and eventually had a good, but small, fire.

Kneeling down at Ino's feet for a minute, he stretched his hands out and rubbed them together. He had given Ino all of his gloves. When he was done warming his hands, he turned back and crawled up to Ino. She was still out cold, her eyes fluttering but nothing more. Wetting his cracking lips, Shikamaru cursed himself for not bringing capstick. Suppressing a yawn, he wondered just how late it was. His watch had died when it was buried in the snow.

"S-s-so…c-cold," Ino suddenly stuttered, her eyes squeezing tightly shut.

He frowned down at her and reached out to feel of her cheek. She was like death itself.

"Don't you worry," he said, not knowing if she could actually hear him, "I'll get you warm somehow."

Swallowing, he studied her, as well as the layered blankets and coats. All of these layers were serving a purpose, true enough, but body heat would pass better between them if done by skin to skin contact. He knew he was way warmer than her, and if he were to just—(get naked with Ino? No, he couldn't). But he must. If he wanted her to live through this, then he would have to. Once he had her warm enough, he would put their clothes back on, he told himself. By then, maybe she would wake up.

The thought of her reaction upon waking scared the hell out of Shikamaru. He would never live the act down. But she would thank him later.

Swallowing as he began unbuttoning the vest, Shikamaru suddenly found his throat dry. From growing cold or thirst, he wasn't sure, but what he was sure of was that it was not from being nervous. Why would he be? This was just a way of survival; something that had to be done. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it at all, this he knew. But, he did find that it stirred something unwelcome from within him. Shaking himself, he sat the vest aside and pulled the sweater underneath over his head. He was now left with three remaining shirts, and he pulled off two of them.

Ino began to shiver.

Now down to the black shinobi long-sleeve top and nearly five sets of pants, he stood to his feet and began removing each pair of pants. It didn't take long before he was in his usual outfit.

Looking down at shivering Ino, he decided that it was now or never. Off came the shirt, revealing a lean upper body. Down came the pants. He was oddly reminded of a movie he had once caught Naruto watching. This image would remain to haunt him for the rest of his life. He would have to switch teams after this. Man, life sucked.

Now shivering in his boxers, Shikamaru sat down beside of Ino and looked her over. How to go about this, he wondered. Never in his life had he taken off a woman's clothes. The task wouldn't be that hard to accomplish, he realized, if she were awake. How on earth did you go about getting a limp woman down to her undies?

Unaware that his heart rate had picked up, he straddled her and began removing the coats. Shikamaru finally managed to get Ino down to her purple top. He scowled.

"Ino, you idiot," he snapped. "What are you doing wearing this way out here? Geeze."

Typical Ino, leaving Konoha in her usual skimpy clothing, no matter the weather. Well, he decided not to worry over it, seeing as the top was coming off anyhow.

Suddenly finding that he couldn't unbutton this one, he thought of pulling it over her head, but she whimpered when he raised her arms, so he opted cut through the center. It worked. Shikamaru blushed as Ino's black-lace bra revealed itself. The thing barely covered her, and he thought it was useless, seeing as you could see through it. She should either go without it, he thought, or wear one that actually covered her.

He realized he was staring and scolded himself.

Shaking his head, he moved downward and sat at her feet. His mind instantly cleared once he wasn't staring at Ino's breasts, and he took off her shoes, leaving the socks. He then began removing the thin pair of black cloth pants. Apparently, that was the only pair she had on, and he frowned. Troublesome woman. Did she want to freeze? Leave it to Ino to worry more about looking fat in snow clothing.

Pulling the pants off, Shikamaru laid them aside with the rest of the garments and looked back at her. She had actually put tights on, which surprised him. However, they were only net-tights, and served little to no purpose. He chose to leave them on. She was naked enough. Anymore and he would drool.

Where did that come from, he asked himself?

Frowning, he crossed his arms and looked over his shoulder to the small fire. He knew should get her as close to it as possible. Shikamaru turned back around and crawled beside of Ino's knees. Reaching out, he took hold of her shoulder and began gathered her up. She was surprisingly light for someone who was dead weight, so to speak.

Once he placed her further down on the table cloth, he carefully lay down on his back and positioned Ino on top of him. The position made him feel awkward, but he quickly pulled the three blankets over them. Should Ino wake up, she would very likely smack the piss out of him before she understood that he stripped them.

The walls around them began to creak. Looking over Ino's shoulder, Shikamaru knitted his brow and listened. Nothing else. Relaxing again, Shikamaru lay there with Ino for nearly five silent and peaceful moments. The heat from the fire and their bodies finally began to kick in and he could tell Ino felt it too.

He jerked slightly as her leg slipped between his. Ino gave a soft moan and her eyes began to flutter. Readying himself, Shikamaru sucked in a breath and watched Ino's pastel blue eyes open. She looked down at what was beneath her hands.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" she asked in a quivering voice.

Her head rolled and she tilted her chin to look up at him. Clearly her mind was still somewhat foggy because she was not attacking.

"Am I dreaming?"

"Fraid not," he said, wary still.

"So," her voice was beginning to gain strength, "you're not part of my imagination? I'm not seeing things?"

"No."

She breathed a rattled breath, followed by a round of shaky coughs, and gripped at Shikamaru's chest when pain shot through her cold lungs. When Ino opened her eyes from the coughs, they traveled dazedly from Shikamaru's eyes, to his neck, and then shoulders. Ino looked at her hand and his chest.

"Shikamaru. . .are we. . .are we naked?"

He had to stop himself from laughing at the way she asked the question, and found that a chuckle slipped through.

"No, Ino," he said, knowing that he was likely treading on thin water, "we're wearing underwear."

"Under—"

Blinking, she looked back up to his face and then back to her hand.

"Why?"

It was clear to Shikamaru that she was in somewhat of a daze from her previous state. He suppressed another yawn.

"Because," he finally began, finding that he rather liked how the firelight made her glow, "I needed to get you warm. Body heat was the quickest way to go about it."

"But," she frowned, "we didn't have to be nearly nude for that, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru thought Ino sounded a lot like a mother speaking to her child. He cleared his throat and resisted the urge to shift himself. The last time he had done that, it had caused another unwelcome feeling to wash over him.

"It works faster if you use skin to skin contact. I did it for your own good."

Now that Ino's mind had cleared most of the way, her brow smoothed out. She looked far too tired to argue with him. Besides, he could tell that she knew he was right. Giving a yawn, Ino turned her head over on his chest, looking to the fire. She suddenly panicked and sat up on his lap, looking down at his confused face.

"Oh, Shikamaru," she wailed helplessly, "we're trapped here, aren't we?"

He tried his best to keep his gaze up and nodded, feeling no need to lie. Ino was a big girl, she could handle the truth.

"Oooh," she moaned, throwing herself back down and causing him to give an uff. "Oooh, we're going to die!"

Shikamaru had never heard Ino speak like that, and he was shocked to feel something wet against his bare chest. God what she must have been through before he'd gotten to her; no wonder she was in this state of hysteria.

"Ino…"