Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


Chapter 7:

There was a heavy, uneasy silence that indulged them as they made their way back to their holding place. Neither of them said a word, both preoccupied with their own thoughts.

It was completely unnerving to think that years of training and busting her ass day in and day out still wasn't enough for her to be able to to watch her own back. She didn't deserve the chunin title, much less to be considered a ninja of the leaf. She seriously thought she was better than that. She couldn't remember the last time she was taken down so easily. It completely unsettled her, more so then than being pressed against a wall and violated. She told herself over and over again that it was because of her frustration, and it wouldn't happen again. She repeated it over and over again to herself like a prayer, but it still didn't make her feel any better.

Cautiously she turned her head a fraction of an inch in his direction. When it came down to it she should have listened to him. He was her team leader after all and she deliberately disobeyed him. She didn't like the look he wore. He was agitated, and it was no doubt because of her.

Looking up at him she knew she should say something. He looked like he was holding something in so she might as well make it easy for him.

"Okay, go ahead and fuckin say!" She felt completely pitiful, but she wasn't about to let it show.

He sighed, thinking what was the point?

She gave him a minute before growing even more agitated at his silence.

"I hate how you never feel the need to say anything out loud, like I'm supposed to be a freaking mind reader or something." She glared, crossing her arms tightly against her chest.

"What do you want me to say Ino? That your childish antics nearly cost you more than you can afford to lose right now, or scold you for deliberately disobeying me?" He asked quite harshly, even if his face didn't say anything his voice said it all.

He was pissed and he had every right to be. They had more than enough to deal with already, and she shouldn't be adding to the steel ton already weighing down on them. She didn't have the right to always make everything about her. She should have just stayed put, that way that bastard wouldn't have ever gotten the chance to touch her.

Instead of answering she simply bowed her head and kept her mouth shut for the rest of the walk. She dropped her pride momentarily. He was the only one around after all and there was nothing he could say that she couldn't see from the pointed looks he gave her.

It wasn't long before they were outside that hideous old door again. She wanted nothing more than to slam her fist through it, see how it liked that, but then she realized she was picking a fight with an inanimate object. She let it go, and instead went to open it.

She knew if he had anything else to say to her he would have already, so she had no other option but to walk back into the dingy, scarcely lit room and concentrate on her own thoughts.

As soon as she stepped through she saw Choji's face light up, and she couldn't help but try to return the smile. He was worried like he always was when it came to his two teammates. If it weren't for him where would the rest of their team be?

She took a seat next to him and let out an exasperated sigh, before tucking her knees under her chin.

"That bad?" He asked. not missing her look of anguish.

"Damn it Choji! I don't know how the hell I'm gonna make it in here." She whined, resting her head on his left shoulder.

"I feel ya." He answered, sounding equally as exhausted.

"Okay now I know we're doomed. You're supposed to be our beacon of hope." She laughed unhappily, before offering him a genuine smile, and a small nudge, silently asking him to hold it together for the three of them.

Shikamaru didn't bother to take a look around the room again. Instead he just took his seat against the furthest wall possible. They'd only been here for a few hours and already they were in over their heads. What exactly did they step into?

They were ninja yes, and used to the uncertainties that came with every mission, but they'd never been so unprepared. They were sent here to check out the place and report back, not get stuck in something so catastrophic. Worst of all, they were on what was considered a semi spy mission. They weren't due back for at least two months. That's how long they were given to make sure everything was safe and as it should be.

And yeah that was shit and all, but that wasn't what got him. If they weren't back in two months as their mission plan stated, Konoha would then send a message out to them, which they would receive no answer to and in turn send a search party out to fetch them. They would then, more than likely get trapped as well.

As far as he knew no one had successfully made it out of this hell hole yet, so they wouldn't even know what hit them. To top all that off how did they know this thing wasn't spreading already, that the other villages weren't in danger. Then there was the never ending headache known as Ino. He swore this girl was going to be the end of him.

Just what the hell was she thinking? Was she trying to get him to commit murder? Why couldn't the damn girl just stay put. You know ease his headache a bit, but no she made it her personal mission to distract him from everything he did.

He tugged on his empty weapon pouch aggressively, moving it to a more comfortable position. What were they going to do? In a few minutes they would be separated and with half his squad gone, how was he supposed to formulate a successful plan.

He looked across the room. Temari was tapping her fingers, impatiently gripping her fan. Fan! Maybe they could try blowing the mysterious smoke away. A strong enough jutsu might do it right?

Then again that really wouldn't make sense. Temari attempted to blow it away on various occasions during their brief struggle, and that didn't work. Maybe she just panicked; he would have to ask her, and now was a good a time as ever.

Sighing he picked himself up and dragged himself to the other side of the room. She saw him coming before he even stood. She was just like that, always on her guards, no matter what. At least someone still had their good sense.

"Well this is fun." She sighed making room for him to sit.

"Yeah, one hell of a time." He frowned taking a seat. He relaxed against the wall for a second, aware that her gaze was directed towards him. Turning he gave her a lazy look studying her for a second before speaking.

"Tell me, did you by any chance try using your fan out there?"

"Is that a stupid question?" She asked, raising a thin brow at him.

"So it definitely wouldn't be worth trying out again?" He sighed, already knowing the answer to his question.

"No, it wouldn't." She answered confidently.

"Thought so." He smirked

"And here I thought this mish would be over in a snap." She sighed. "Still I've come to expect nothing short of unpredictability when it comes to Konoha, especially when one of the rookie nine is involved." Her tone lightened at the mention of them.

"Not so rookie anymore." He answered, casually closing his eyes again, and comfortably leaning against the wall.

"No I guess not." She mumbled, giving him a slow once-over.

"So, no brilliant ideas yet?" She asked, leaning back against the same wall as well.

He was about to answer but in that exact moment Ino decided to express her discomfort.

"Come on! Are they planning to keep us sitting here forever?" Ino yelled, getting to her feet. She was fed up with all this. If they were going to separate them then they should go ahead and fuckin do it already.

Shikamaru chose to ignore her, faking sleep instead. It was the best way to get out of one of her rants. Only in that moment a few things decided to happen.

The front door slammed open revealing a dark, towering shadow. Being the trained ninja they were, their chakra spiked dangerously, a warning to whoever came through. Practiced hand seals already completed, all were at the ready.

Oblivious to all of this, a tall, built man wearing a long, gray trench coat that covered half his face walked through the door. He surveyed the group quickly giving off an aura of superiority while doing so. He obviously took them as no threat by the way he watched over them.

Ino wanted nothing more than to let him know just what they were capable of, but Shikmaru was their leader and she wouldn't budge until he gave the order.

Sneaking a glance in his direction she was shocked to see that he abandoned his defensive position to go back to lying casually against the wall. Temari followed his lead shortly after, followed by Choji, and lastly her. Looks like he didn't mean any trouble but Ino wasn't entirely convinced.

"I'm here to assign you to your respectable dorms, and to walk you through a set of boundaries that we require everyone to follow during their stay here. These rules are accompanied by a set of disciplinary actions in case any of them are broken.

"Then by all means, speak." Ino huffed.

"The quarters are divided into male and female compartments. Female dorms are in slightly better condition than the male dorms, as you may understand. We are not a ninja village, most of our residents are civilians, therefore I need you all to keep your abilities to a minimum as to insure the safety of those around you.

Females and males are to say in their assigned areas and are not to interact with one another other than during meal times and recreation activities that will be closely monitored.

"What are we ten?" Ino muttered under her breath, causing a small laugh to leave Choji, which he quickly hit behind a cough.

It is our main priority to insure that everything is kept as orderly as possible. We cannot afford an outbreak or any type of conspiracy to occur within these walls. There are very few places to which we can evacuate to. We have very little tolerance for any disorderly conduct. He fixed them all with a look that implied just how much he wasn't kidding.

There are three simple rules that must be followed at all times. Rule number one, all corridors must be shut down by eleven, no late night wanderings, or midnight tours. This is done for safety reasons of course. There will be people, posing as guards, wandering the halls to make sure this doesn't happen.

Rule number two females and males are to remain in separate compartments after curfew with the exception of recreational activities and meal times. No exceptions. We want to insure that everyone feels comfortable, as these are shared dorms with people of all ages residing in them. We do not encourage any type of fornication, while we are here.

Last but not least, do not and I repeat do not open or attempt to open any window, vent or opening directly connected to the outside world. It could no doubt be catastrophic. Other than that the same rules of human decency apply.

No fighting, stealing, vandalism, destruction of property, ect. You're all qualifies ninja, I'm sure you get the point. I trust you know how to handle yourselves.

Still I'm required to warn you so on that note there is a holding cell down in the lower corridors that have been specialized to hold in people of low conduct. And let me assure you that our guards have little pity for those who find themselves in their care. On that note trust and believe that just because we're not specifically a ninja village, that doesn't mean we don't have very special individuals under our league."

He took a quick look around the room and even Ino couldn't overlook the seriousness he put behind his words.

"On that note please follow me. I'll be showing the ladies to their room first."

Ino was the last to get up still not entirely fond of the whole scenario. She stuck next to Choji, deliberately staying away from her other teammate.

The corridors were lonely and deserted but Ino swore she could hear footsteps all around her. What time was it? Were people already working or going about these recreational activities? It was hard to tell whether it was night or day.

"Your beds are right through these double doors here. There are a series of bunks beds, pick two empty ones, drop your bags off and then come straight back." He gestured to two double doors, a few feet ahead of them.

"Thanks man, but anything not worth carrying would have been left back home. We ninja like to keep our possessions within arm's reach, if you get what I mean." Temari spoke.

Ino nodded her Confirmation.

"Very well, let us proceed then." He moved ahead.

The group followed behind.

"Excuse me, but is there somewhere we're supposed to be? You seem to be in a hurry." Choji spoke up.

"Dinner starts in twelve minutes, and we don't alter our schedule to accommodate you, or anyone else for that matter."

"Well I don't know about you guys, but dinner sounds good to me." Choji beamed

"After our shit hole of a day anything edible sounds good." Shikamaru agreed, sounding slightly less agitated then before.

"Glad to hear. Your place is at the end of this corridor here." He gestured with a hand to the left before continuing on his way. "I assume you don't want to drop your things off either, so we will proceed to the dining hall now, this way."

"You mentioned recreational activities right, umm... I'm sorry what's your name again?" Ino's cheeks flushed at not having asked earlier.

"Ikuto"

"Right, so when exactly are these happening?"

"Right after dinner, but assuming you're tired from your journey you will have tonight off." He spoke

"That's not really necessary considering we spent most of the day knocked out." Temari reminded him.

"Then you'll be given a simpler task or..."

"We're quite capable. We don't need special treatment." Ino was quick to intervene.

"I never said you did." He turned to look at her over his shoulder

"Ino." She answered his silent question

"Well Ino, if you exceed yourselves you'll be of little help to us. We have yet to figure out all the components of this dead fume, but from what we've gathered so far, we can assure you it's no walk in the park."

"Understood, we will rest for tomorrow." Shikamaru answered, ending any further protests.

"The dining hall is straight ahead, enjoy your meal, and get some sleep." With that he turned the corner and disappeared down the hall.

"Well, are we going or not? You heard the man, dinner waits for no one." Choji smiled, walking ahead.

"I gotta agree with you on this one." Temari followed suit.

Ino sighed before walking the opposite way of the dining hall.

"Are you going to tell me where you're headed this time or leave me to guess?" Shikamaru called after her.

"Relax, I'm just going to take a quick nap." She waved a hand nonchalantly behind her.

"You should eat something. This is hardly the time for one of your idiotic diets." He frowned.

"Shika, Shika, Shika why do you always assume everything I do, that doesn't have your precious stamp of approval on it, is just another shallow attempt to somehow better myself?" She asked him flippantly. Ino hoped the look she wore didn't show how close to home her words actually hit.

"You do realize that I'm not twelve anymore, don't you Shikamaru? So unless me eating is a direct order, I'll be on my way now." And with that she turned on her heels, not sparing him another glance.

"And don't you dare follow me!" She called over her shoulder.

"Tricky, because I don't see anything stopping me from doing just that, not that I'd waste the energy." He called after her, before remembering what happened the last time he followed her out.

"If you have something to say, say it already Nara. I'm fuckin tired." She turned around to face him.

"I'm not trying to say anything. You're the one getting worked up over a few words. Learn some self-control women."

"Don't talk down to me!" She snapped, closing the distance between them. She shoved him hard against the chest. She chose to ignore the tiniest feeling of excitement that came from the physical contact.

"I'm not a child, and you can't keep fuckin treating me like one. I'm just as capable as any one of you. I'm entitled to my own choices, and I don't need someone keeping watch over me twenty four seven!" She raged on, shoving him on every intake of breath.

Why was it that everything he did caused her to lose her composure so easily? Was she that hooked on him? She couldn't deny she felt something for him, but he really shouldn't have this kind of control over her. It just wasn't fair.

"Ino." He breathed, attempting to get her to stop hitting him. She wasn't really going all out but it stung nonetheless.

"Calm down already." He snapped, grabbing her arm firmly. He felt his anger rising, combined with something else.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She aimed for his face, with the hand that wasn't in his grip.

"Enough Ino!" In the next instant he had her pinned roughly against the wall.

"Stop hitting me!" He growled, his face centimeters from hers.

"Let go of me Shikamaru." She warned through gritted teeth, meeting his glare head on.

"It's about time you learned that when I say something Ino, it's not a fuckin suggestion."

Words escaped her, and action took over. In that moment neither of them was sporting much self-control. His mouth came down over hers in a rough, possessive sort of way. She groaned against his lips feeling her heart swell at the contact. Her left hand found itself gripping his vest, while the other gripped the back of his necks, his hands holding her waist tightly.

His mouth tasted sweet, with a hint of nicotine, but she found that she loved it. She happily obliged when his tongue pressed itself between her lips. She wrapped both her arms around his neck, arching into his warmth, wanting to have him as close as humanely possible. She shivered when his hands slid from her waist down to her thighs, lifting her up in one fluent motion. Her legs easily wrapped themselves around him.

One moment they were fighting the next he had her pinned against the wall, completely at his mercy, but she wasn't about to submit to him. She knew he knew it too. She didn't miss the smirk tugging at his lips as he kissed her. She wanted to smack him, but more than that she just wanted him.

Unfortunately the kiss ended much too soon for either of their liking. They heard footsteps coming down the hall and before Ino knew it her feet were back on solid ground. She watched him lick her grape flavored lip balm from his lips. Smiling wickedly she reached up wiping a small bit off the corner of his mouth with her thumb, before moving completely out of his grasp. She walked passed him then. He didn't bother to follow her.

This wasn't their first kiss and as long as both of them were concerned it wouldn't be their last.


Thank you for reading.