Part Four - Diversions


Shikamaru couldn't stop scowling.

He sat slouched down low with arms crossed tightly over his chest, fighting the urge to look back over his shoulder. Angry, perturbed thoughts were intruding on his customarily cool-headed thinking. It felt as if every eye had been turned on them as they walked through the door, and for a minute Shikamaru was certain that they'd blown their flimsy cover. But the simple (and annoying) truth was that everyone had been mesmerized by watching Ino confidently saunter her way towards her selected seat - hardly anyone had spared him a glance. And afterwards they had immediately been forgotten once they'd slid into the booth, leaving Shikamaru to stew. It couldn't really have been that stupidly easy to infiltrate this place... could it?

He caught Ino flashing him a saucy grin. Worked like a charm, huh?

Shikamaru's mood did not improve. Never mind his own misgivings. Any small measure of success usually had the adverse effect of making Ino's natural overconfidence swell to even greater proportions, which in turn spurred her on to riskier behavior. In the end it spelled nothing but trouble for him. He eyed Ino warily while she took a moment to primp, feeling a quiet sense of dread building inside his gut.

Blast it all, how did I ever let myself get talked into this?

Sadly, Shikamaru already knew the reason why. The answer had left off fiddling with her hair and was now rubbing sinuously up against his side.

"You're too tense," murmured Ino as she glided her hands across the taut muscles of his arms and shoulders. When he failed to respond, she slid a hand down his torso and rubbed along his stomach. "Really, Shikamaru - you need to relax a bit more."

"Can't hardly help it, with my back to the enemy," muttered Shikamaru sarcastically. He stole a peek down the opening of her blouse and then determinedly shut his eyes. And your hand mere inches from my -

Shikamaru abruptly sat up in his seat, prompting Ino to leave off her caresses. Observing his stiff posture, she bit back an impish grin. Oh, this was going to be fun. She couldn't help it; there was something intoxicating about strutting through the crowded room that had unleashed her libido. Though she knew every eye had been watching, she had only been aware of Shikamaru's burning gaze following her across the floor. Just knowing again how much he wanted her sent shivers of anticipation racing through her nerves. Feeling recklessly emboldened, Ino twisted her body sideways and leaned in until she was pressing her breasts firmly against Shikamaru's arm. He almost jumped at the contact.

"What's wrong?" she asked, too innocently. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in warning.

"This isn't the place for that," he hissed with mounting frustration, all too aware of her familiar softness rubbing enticingly against his skin. He had to get her to stop - she never seemed to understand how hard it could be to control his body when she touched him like this. "Damn it, Ino, we're in public."

But she merely smiled coquettishly and proceeded to slowly draw her breasts along his arm. "It's okay; we're in a booth," Ino purred, grateful for the thinness of the fabric - she knew he could feel everything. "Besides... I want you to be all hot and bothered right now." And with an audience to boot, she added silently, knowing better than to remind him of the fact.

Almost as if he had read her mind, Shikamaru suddenly went rigid like a statue. Ino arched her brows in surprise: she could feel his heart hammering madly in his chest. "We-are-in-the-middle-of-a-mission," he finally managed to choke out through gritted teeth.

Ino couldn't help giggling at the helpless expression on his face. For a genius, Shikamaru could still be so wonderfully clueless at times. "Silly boy, haven't you figured it out yet?" she whispered coyly up at him. "This is part of the mission!"

And with that, Ino quickly slid over and into his lap. Before Shikamaru knew what was happening, her arms were wrapped around his neck and her hands were entwined in his hair. Then soft, warm lips molded themselves against his, and he felt the slow, sensual tug of her mouth working its irresistible magic on him.

Oh hell, thought Shikamaru desperately as two opposing facets of his psyche went to war. He had never wanted to be the type of idiot who listened to his little brain over his big one, yet the physical immediacy of Ino's body pressed to his was decisively overwhelming any rational objections. Feeling the last flimsy piece of resistance crumbling inside, Shikamaru cursed himself. He was that kind of idiot.

Then he gave in.

Ino's eyes opened briefly as she felt Shikamaru's mouth yielding to hers before fluttering shut again. Soon his arms wound their way around her back and he began deepening the kiss. Within seconds her heartbeat rose to join his, and a victorious ecstasy filled Ino's heart. She gave herself up to the moment, reveling in the joy of once again being lost in their own private world.

But it wasn't long before reality encroached again.

The clinking of bottles alerted Ino to someone moving along the aisle, gradually approaching their table. Breaking the kiss, she brought her mouth around to his ear. "Here comes a waitress," she whispered quickly. "Order us some sake, okay?"

The slightly glazed look in Shikamaru's eyes instantly vanished. Ino felt his body automatically freezing up beneath her as he seemed to come to his senses. "What?"

Uh-oh, thought Ino, sensing that Shikamaru was about to revert back into his more coldly logical mode. She couldn't let that happen just yet. Seizing on the only thing she could think of, she started to nuzzle his ear. "Please," she whispered again. "We really need it."

"Ino...," Shikamaru began, but stopped almost immediately as his thoughts unexpectedly scattered. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head from the sensation of Ino gently sucking on an earlobe. Then she let go.

"Do it," Ino murmured, brushing her lips slowly over his temple. "You'll see why."

Succumbing to the inevitable, Shikamaru tried not to groan aloud as Ino returned to nibbling on his ear. It strongly put him in mind of things he could be doing with his own mouth, if only he had a private room and a nice, flat surface to lay her out on...

Get a grip, Shikamaru warned himself sternly before his body could overreact to the image. You're on the job, he added, though calling this 'work' was undoubtedly pushing things too far. Still, he had to admit that so far Ino's unconventional little plan was working, reckless as it was. But the request for sake was baffling - he knew she was too smart to do something like getting drunk in the middle of an operation. Was it just another 'prop' to add to their image? Yeah, that was probably it. He then wondered if the waitress would reject the request, pointing out that they were obviously underage... but a seedy establishment like this one probably didn't even care.

Shikamaru sighed as the waitress drew close. This is turning into one hell of a mission.