I finally was able to update this story. You won't believe the terrible writer's block I had on this one. Hopefully this new chapter will pick the story's pace back up. Thank you for waiting so patiently. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. enchanted-nova was the previous writer but I adopted this story.

SECOND DATE AND CHASE

Shikamaru was going over the files of the case and he was still puzzled by the contents. Single women targeted and they are all from the Land of Fire, with no leads or evidence of the crimes by the murderer. This is all so troublesome that he can't seem to wrap his mind around on what exactly this killer is after. The only hope they could have of finding this killer is with Ino's help with her family's techniques. At the thought of Ino, he was especially glad that she talked with him about how she really felt when she quit being a kunoichi the first time. Now, after that he had to review this case once more, he had to get ready for their "second date" even though she still insists that it's their first date just to tease him. But he always been kept on his toes whenever Ino is involved; she always ends up surprising him with whatever endeavor she plans. So with her planning this date, anything could be planned for this date.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at his door he placed the files on his coffee table and then went to his front door and opened it. He opened the door and was surprised to find Ino there but she seemed her usual cheerful self; just like he remembered her to be. She beamed at him and then greeted him, "Hi Shika, how are you?"

He gave a small grin in return and answered, "I'm fine, though I have been busy trying to figure out this case."

Ino looked at the file on the table and then replied sympathetically, "I only have been given the details of it but the classified information has been kept under wraps until I go into the Interrogation Corps."

Shikamaru nodded and then asked, "Are you here to just talk or just a passing visit?"

Ino answered, "I just came to tell you to be ready tonight at 7:30; you can dress casually."

At this, he was confused; Ino never dresses too casually for anything, even her mission attire had to be a bit fashionable when they were sixteen.

Shikamaru asked, "Where are we going?"

Ino just gave a smile and replied, "You'll see, Shika."

She pecked his cheek and then went on her way through the door. Shikamaru watched her until he couldn't see her anymore wondering what exactly they will do on this date. He shrugged his shoulders, went back into his apartment and then continued his work knowing since he was a kid that whatever Ino plans, he should just go with it.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the village…

"You're sure that you're okay, Hinata? You were in the hospital for only two days, shouldn't you rest more?" Naruto asked his girlfriend.

Hinata smiled up at him and replied, "I am okay, the doctors had told me to at least recuperate at home and wait a little bit until I can train again."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief; ever since she returned from her mission injured he wouldn't stop doting on her. For instance, he insisted that he get her anything she wanted that the hospital didn't have like cinnamon rolls even when she had some already, and even stayed by her side even when visiting hours were over; he would sneak in through the fifth floor window.

So now they were walking around the village to let Hinata have fresh air before they went to eat at the dango shop. They were sharing the dumplings they ordered and were having a good time together, both sharing their previous missions stories or about other things.

Naruto has never been happier than he is with Hinata, so he has made it his goal to care for her and love her. Naruto and Hinata were now walking towards the Hyuga compound but as they passed by an alley, there was a swift movement in the shadows that it alerted Naruto to look into the alley behind Hinata.

Hinata looked up at him in confusion and then asked, "Naruto-kun, what's wrong?"

Naruto snapped his attention back at his girlfriend and then smiled at her before saying, "Nothing… I just thought I saw something."

Then they continued on their way but Naruto became wary of what he saw. They finally reached Hinata's house and he smiled down at her and said, "If you need anything at all, you know where I live."

Hinata smiled in return and replied, "Okay, I will. Bye Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and then he leaned down towards her to give her a kiss before they heard a slam of a door opening. Naruto quickly pulled away from her and they both looked up at the one who interrupted their private moment.

There was Hiashi at the door looking stoic as usual but then he addressed Hinata, "Hinata, I am happy that you are out of the hospital. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes father, I'm fine. Naruto-kun was escorting me home," Hinata explained.

Naruto agreed, "Yes, I was just escorting my girlfriend home, Hiashi-sama."

To appease Hiashi, he bowed to him in a sign of respect.

Hiashi watched as he did, truth be told, he did enjoy the young man's antics and him trying to impress him was hilarious to him, even if he didn't show it.

Hiashi answered, "Very well thank you for escorting her home and hopefully that you come over for dinner at least once."

Naruto stood up to look at him and answered, "Of course, I would love to soon."

Hinata smiled at him and then said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Then she got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek and then she went inside the house walking past her father.

Naruto smiled at her as she walked inside and then he received a glare from Hiashi, with his Byakugan activated. Naruto got the warning; he swiftly bowed and then ran for it.

Inside the house, Hinata asked, "Father, must you intimidate Naruto-kun? He is scared of you enough as it is."

Hiashi simply answered, "Because, it amuses me to watch him squirm."

Hinata sighed at her father's reasoning; Hiashi is usually the most reserved person she knows but even she is surprised how tormenting her boyfriend is amusing to him.

Later in the evening, Naruto was at the training grounds. To others, it may just look like he is just meditating but he was really gathering nature energy.

He voiced his thoughts, "Kurama, I can't get that feeling of some intruder in the village out of my thoughts. It was a brief feeling of insincere intentions but I can't rule out the possibility."

Kurama agreed, "I felt it too. We'll see if there is an intruder, I'll help with that."

Naruto breathed in deeply and then an orange pigmentation formed around his eyes and when he opened them, his irises were yellow with horizontal pupils. He got up, closed his eyes and started observing everywhere in the village. He saw that there was regular chakra signatures amongst the village center. There were some above average chakra signatures which were shinobi of Chūnin level or some Jounin level shinobi. He saw that there was a large chakra signature near Team 7's training ground with another slightly smaller one next to it; they were Sasuke and Sakura because he was told that Sasuke was training Sakura to be in ANBU.

To him, everything seemed relatively normal and there wasn't anything strange going on. That is until, he saw a large foreign chakra signature close to the center of the village. He was right, there was an intruder, and so with the speed only a high-level shinobi would possess, he ran swiftly and silently to the center of the village to try to catch this possible threat.

At the flower shop…

Shikamaru was outside at the front of the store wearing his casual attire, a black turtle neck with long black pants. He was waiting for Ino to come out when she is ready since it was close to 7:30 like they agreed.

Then he was brought to reality when Ino came out of the shop with a basket in her hands. But what left him speechless once again, was the light blue sundress she was wearing with white sandals. Her hair was put into a messy bun so her hair was out of her face. She was smiling up at him and then she teased him, "Shika, your mouth is hanging open."

He had blushed as he closed his mouth and then he shakily replied, "I couldn't really help it, you look beautiful…"

When he realized that he probably embarrassed himself by saying that but he saw that she was blushing as well and he heard her whisper, "Thank you…"

Then she gently took his hand and led him through the village and it was then that he recognized the path they were on which caused him to smile. He let her lead him while at the same time he gripped her hand in a gentle manner as well. When they reached their destination, they were at a large oak tree in a field it towered over them both and they were at the base of it. He remembers it that they would come out here sometimes when they were kids to cloud watch and sometimes to stargaze.

Shikamaru supposed that this was their date; a picnic at sunset which was pretty close as the sun was starting to set. Ino brought out a red-checkered blanket and laid it flat on the ground. Then she sat down on it and patted the spot next to her for him to sit down as well. He sat next to her and then he watched as she brought out two bento boxes wrapped in their own cloths.

She handed him the bento box wrapped in a green cloth and playfully said to him, "I made your favorite, Shika."

Shikamaru took the bento from her hand as he slightly smiled at her and then untied the knot and revealed the wooden box. He opened the top of it and saw that she did indeed cook his favorite; mackerel with kelp.

Shikamaru chuckled a little before commenting, "I can't believe that you remembered my favorite food."

Ino boasted, "Of course, I did. I always remember my best friend's favorite things."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes but in a light-hearted manner until they both started to eat together. He took a small bite of the mackerel and he was surprised; he thought that it was better than how his mother made it. But if he ever said that to his mother, she would thrash him.

Ino asked "Do you like it?"

Shikamaru looked over at her and answered, "It's delicious."

"I'm glad, I know that it's not easy to impress you with a lot of things. I did my best on it," Ino replied in relief.

Then Shikamaru added to his opinion, "It's even better than how my Mom makes it."

Ino laughed, "Don't let her hear you say that; she'd probably be after you."

Shikamaru smiled at her and then continued with eating their food while watching the sunset. They talked about how she will get back into training with him, what exactly she'll do to try to help with the case and other things that aren't significant to the case. But most of all, they just enjoyed each other's company and soon after they finished the pudding she made, it was dark out and the stars were twinkling above them.

They laid themselves down on the grass after cleaning up everything and they watched the stars in a comfortable silence. Shikamaru glanced over at Ino from the corner of his eye and saw that she was content in just staring up at the stars. He turned his eyes back upwards and brought his hands to behind his head like a pillow.

He heard Ino ask, "Do you remember when we were kids? I would always ask you to sneak out with me to see the stars."

Shikamaru answered, "Of course I remember, it's one of your favorite hobbies, which would cause me to lose a bit of sleep."

Ino retorted, "You liked it too, admit it."

Shikamaru replied, "Okay, I did; it was fun."

Then Ino asked, "Do you remember that one time we were out here and I had climbed up the tree?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't come down because you were scared of hurting yourself, which I warned you about in the first place," Shikamaru recalled."

Ino replied, "We were five, I wasn't someone who would listen to warnings."

Shikamaru chuckled, "No kidding."

Ino then softly replied, "You helped me get down from the tree eventually. Because you promised that you would catch me and you did."

Shikamaru turned his head slightly and then saw that she was looking over at him too. Then she added, "You've always been there for me even when I didn't realize it at the time. I'm glad that we were put on the same team together, I wouldn't trade you or Chouji for the world."

Shikamaru knew his face was red because he felt his face get hot. But then he cleared his throat before replying, "I'm glad we were put on the same team too. I would protect you and Chouji no matter what."

Ino sat up, turned her body to face him and then she said, "I know you would, Shika. You always have."

He saw that she was blushing, not from embarrassment, but because she was happy. It was then and there that he finally figured out exactly why his father married his mother. His father said that his mother had a nice smile and that a tough woman is tender to the man she loves. Maybe he doesn't know if this is love between them yet but he guesses that this is pretty close.

He slowly sits up and faces towards Ino, strands of her hair were framing her face that and the moon is shining on her just perfectly that he takes in every detail and burns it in his memory. He brings a hand to her cheek and lightly caresses it. They both smiled at each other and they slowly lean in until their lips are pressed together once again. In the moment, he instinctively brushes his tongue to her lips to subtly ask for entrance into her mouth, which she grants. They were caught up in the passionate kiss that the world around them dissolved and it only left them in bliss. Unfortunately, they both had to stop to breathe even if it is amazing to them.

They both pulled away from the kiss and they brought their foreheads to touch, while at the same time, they both had smiles on their lips.

Shikamaru then confirmed her earlier statement, "And I always will be there for you, Ino. Count on it."

Ino gave a bright smile to his proclamation and then scooted closer to him to lean her head on his shoulder. Then Shikamaru gently laid himself down onto the grass and also let Ino lay down beside him. Then they continued to star gaze while unconsciously holding each other's hand, perfectly content.

But on the other side of Konoha, trouble was afoot…

Naruto had been discretely following the foreign chakra for up to an hour and a half and he finally was a in a position to strike down the person. He followed the chakra into an alley where he saw a man with a woman in his arms trying to silence her with one hand while he had a kunai in the other. He was about to stab the young woman but that was when Naruto interfered. He threw a kunai at him, causing the man to drop the woman and jump back. Naruto had a clone lying in wait behind the man while the real Naruto calmed the woman down.

Naruto told the woman, "Get behind me…"

Naruto stepped forward to the man that his clone incapacitated and stated, "You're a shinobi, but I don't believe you to be a petty thief."

He tightened his grip on the man's collar and demanded, "Who are you and what is your purpose for trying to kill this woman?"

But the man was silent at first but then he looked up at Naruto and then he answered, "My name…is Tetsuya Inoue…"

Naruto got a good look at the man that he's holding by the collar; he was slightly shorter than him. He was wearing an all-black outfit; black shirt with a black overcoat, black pants and black sandals. He had red/brown hair that grew past his shoulders and was hanging in his face. But what really stood out to Naruto were his eyes; the right eye was a dark blue while the other was purple.

Then Tetsuya added, "My purpose… is to serve Aiko-sama."

I hope that quenched your love for ShikaIno as it did for me. I'm glad that I'm able to have the villain appear. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to leave a review.