Next chapter yay! and guess what? im already starting on chapter 22! im excited guys :3 btw if any of you are Jelsa fans (Elsa x Jack) then go check out my story Black Ice!

Sasuke continued to be hauled by the girl in front of him as he continued to struggle "Sakura where are you taking me?" She didn't answer, "Sakura!" Still no response, frustrated he yelled "Sakura tell me where you're taking me now!" Suddenly she stopped, her movement was so abrupt that he almost fell on top of her smaller self. Luckily he was able to stop himself before colliding with her. Before he could speak again she turned around with his arm still in her grasp but couldn't see her face as she was starring down at the ground.

He stood there and merely watched her, she didn't look up as she spoke, "Shikamaru needs to speak to you.."

Sasuke blinked a few times, "Shikamaru?"

she nodded "yes.." Something was wrong with her, very wrong, he could tell easily. She was never all that great at hiding her emotions. He suddenly grabbed her arm, she jolted in surprise and looked up into his eyes.

He studied her wide emeralds for a few minutes "what is it?" he quickly asked.

She blinked a few times in slight surprise "wh-what?"

He rolled his eyes "don't play dumb Sakura, there's something bothering you."

"No ther-"

"it's written all of your face." She froze and swallowed thickly at his words, she looked down as she bit her lip. ' When did he start to care so much? He's been nothing but a jerk and now he's acting like he cares?' She closed her eyes as her brows furrowed, suddenly she released his arm, and tore hers away from his bruising grip.

In a cool voice she simply told him. "It's nothing that concerns you Sasuke. Now come on, we can't keep Shikamaru waiting." He was so taken aback by her words and sudden action that the Uchiha did nothing but merely sit there in shock. Sakura never talked to him like that. If anything her voice was always sweet and warm she never even gave him a cold shoulder. The pinkette turned and with a hard glare yelled "well, are you coming or not?"

He was shoved back into reality, and merely clenched his fists and made his way towards her.

An Hour Prior

"Wait, wait, wait." The blonde shared a glance with the pink haired girl next to her, "are you telling us that Neji is in love?!"

Shikamaru groaned as he glared at the blonde. "I don't know what he really feels towards her Ino, but all I know is that she means a lot to him." Ino was silent for a moment before looking at Sakura, the two began to squeal in excitement.

"This is so kawaii!" Ino started,

"Isn't it! Oh, a distant relationship!"

"Long lost lovers to meet once again!"

They both squealed together then sighed dreamily "how romantic..."

Shikamaru growled at them, "would you two stop? It's nothing like that..."

Ino giggled a she leaned in to the pony tailed boy. "Oh Shikamaru, can't you see it? Neji is in love with this girl!"

He sighed "Ino that's ridiculous they haven't seen each other for, what? Ten plus years? How could they be in love?"

She giggled "you'd be surprised my little Nara."

"Don't call me that."

She giggled again "but really, how can't you tell? He's always thinking of her, and from the sound of things it seems that he'd kill for her, if that's not love I don't know what is." He sighed 'there's no point in arguing with her...' he pinched the bridge of his nose, but then relaxed. He looked up to the two girls in front of him that were conversing quietly. He took their distraction and quietly watch Ino's blue eyes glimmer in excitement. He smiled slightly 'bubbly and annoying sure.. but I wouldn't have her any other way..'

"Sakura." Green eyes met his black ones, "I need you to find Sasuke for me, can you do that?"

The girl appeared to go slightly tense and a bit pale, but she merely nodded and gave a quiet "of course.." He watched her quietly stand and say her goodbyes to both he and Ino.

"You shouldn't have done that you know." He looked to Ino, her eyes had dulled in worry.

He raised one brow "why not?" She sighed as she leaned on the low table that was between them. She waved him over, but he didn't move.

She sighed as she waved him over more frantically "come here," she whispered. Quietly he leaned in close to her, once close enough she glanced behind them to the door, once deeming it safe she began to speak. "Things between Sasuke and Sakura have been a bit.. well..." she bit her lip as thought of the right word. "Rough?"

Shikamaru blinked in slight surprise "why?"

She gave him an exasperated look "you really don't know Mr. know-everything?" He gave her a dirty look. She snorted"the summer festival?"

She watched his dark eyes search her for a moment before they suddenly widened in realization, "oh.." he scratched the back of his head, "that.."

Ino nodded "yes 'that', ever since Sasuke hasn't treated Sakura the same and acts as if nothing ever happened."

"Isn't that for the best?" He leaned back and crossed his arms "I'm sure he didn't want anything to be awkward between them after wards."

She groaned as she leaned back herself while crossing her arms. "You're a boy so of course you'd say that." He glared but she ignored him, "look, the reason why he shouldn't be acting like nothing happened is because Sakura thought that after that night there would be something more between them. Even though they really didn't do anything, she thought he'd be more open with his feelings for her but..."

Shikamaru sighed "he wasn't." Ino nodded sadly. Shikamaru uncrossed his arms "she shouldn't have expected so much, you know how he is. He's still immature about his feelings, and hardly holds any empathy for other individuals, you should know that better than anyone Ino." He watched the blonde merely nod her head; it was true, she was completely infatuated with the damn boy when she was younger, but that day that he rejected her she had felt her heart crumble into a million little pieces. She remembered that day so well... it was also the same day that she fell for Shikamaru.

Flashback

Little nine year old Ino sat silently at the steps of her home sobbing sadly as fat, salty tears streamed down her round cheeks.'How could Sasuke be so cruel!' All she could think of was his cold gaze and harsh words as he dropped the flowers she gave him to the floor and walked all over them. It hurt, hurt more than anything she'd ever felt before. She'd grown those flowers specifically for him, and he treated them like nothing more than trash. She continued to cry over her broken heart.

"He's a jerk."

Ino immediately fell silent at that familiar voice, she looked up. "Shi-Shikamaru?" she sniffed "wh-what are you doing here?"

He didn't answer his question as he merely repeated what he'd said before, but added something more to it. "He's a jerk, and you deserve someone better than him Ino."

She blinked a few times in shock "R-really?" She hiccuped, he nodded. She looked down and began to think over her best friends words.

"Here." She suddenly looked up and starred at a small bouquet of hanashobo. She sniffed 'what?' She looked up to Shikamaru, but saw him looking away from her, she swore he was blushing but she was still unsure. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but quickly looked away when he saw that she was starring at him. "They're your favorites, I thought you'd like them."

He didn't hear anything from her and began to feel more embarrassed, but then he heard movement, and before he knew it the bouquet was taken from his hand and small arms had wrapped themselves tightly around his neck. "Thank you Shikamaru!" Ino was clinging to him as she yelled her thanks and sobbed into his shirt.

He was completely flustered "o-oi Ino!" She didn't respond as she merely held him tighter and nuzzled her face deeper into his shoulder. He was frozen for a moment before relaxing, and then slowly wrapping his arms around her trembling form. "How about I walk you home?"

End of Flashback

Ino blushed slightly at the memory, how could she not have fallen for the young genius after that? She sighed and looked to Shikamaru hoping he hadn't caught her little moment. She was thankful to see his eyes closed as he appeared to be deep in thought. She starred at him and admired his handsome face and strong build. Smart, handsome, strong, she inwardly sighed'what more could a girl want...' she frowned slightly 'for him to want her back...'She suddenly pressed her lips together as she began thinking of a question she had for him, one that had been on her mind since yesterday.

She began to press her fingers together, "Ano.. Shikamaru?"

The boy slowly opened his eyes and immediately caught her strange behavior, "hai?" she was about to speak again before she suddenly realized what she was doing. She flushed as she immediately stopped playing with her fingers 'I've been around Hinata too much...'

She sighed as she looked up at him "I was wondering," she tried desperately to keep her voice from trembling, "have you asked anyone to accompany to the..the summer festival?"

She watched his eyes widened for a moment before he suddenly began to rub the back of his head while looking away, "well...no.. no not exactly, um.."

"Do.." he looked at her. "Do you have someone in mind?"

He swallowed as he attempted to calm down, God he hated how she made him feel. "Well... in all honesty, yes.. I just don't know what she'll say..."

"oh really?"

He smiled at her gently, Ino felt her heart race. "Yes, we're close you see, and... I just don't know what she would say.." Ino felt her heart break slightly 'close.. It has to be Temari...they're cousins, how much closer could you get?'

Her smile became tight. "We'll that's cute." She forced a giggle.

He smiled half heartedly at her, he could sense her sudden discomfort. "Ino are yo-"

Suddenly the door behind them slid open. "Sakura!" Ino jumped up and immediately ran towards the girl hugging her.

The pinkette smiled as she hugged her friend back. "I found him Shikamaru." He watched as Sasuke appeared from behind the girl, he did not look happy in the least.

Ino gave a quick hello to him before turning around to face Shikamaru, "goodbye Shika! Maybe we'll talk tomorrow? Come on Sakura!"

He wasn't expecting her to leave, he still needed to talk to her, he began to get up. "Wait In-!"

"Ja ne!"

Shikamaru froze in place as he swore that he saw the glimmer of tears in her usually happy blue eyes. The door slid shut with a finalized slam of the girls' departure.

1858 June 28th – China

Tenten whipped her head from to side nervously as she finished placing her clothes in her bag behind a large boulder. She sighed 'I can't believe I'm doing this in this town of all places.' She groaned at her terrible luck. She once again looked around, and spotting no one quickly ran into the river. She shivered at the freezing water, but immediately began to cup some of the liquid and pour it over her body. Her skin was covered with dry mud, after the little incident at that damn temple it was no surprise. She shivered, but she wasn't sure if it was from the memory or the freezing water. She began to run her fingers through her hair and groaned at the stubborn knots and tangles along with the clumps of mud. She looked down at the water and hesitated for a moment before deciding to hold her breath and dunk herself under. She sat there for fifteen seconds before shooting back up. She gasped for breath as she slung her hair back. It hit her skin with a loud slap, but she didn't mind it. She rubbed her eyes and opened them, blinking a few times to gain her sight once again. She bent down a bit to get her hair into the water and began to run her fingers through the now wet strands to attempt at removing the stubborn knots. He back began to ache just as she finished. Sighing with relief she straightened up, and looked to the river bank where her clothes still sat, she smiled as she spotted a familiar red plant. She wadded over to the bank and picked the flower, then quickly walked back to the waist deep area of the river. She broke off the green stem of the long tube like flower and then flipped it over so the tip was at her palm. She gripped onto it and began to squeeze it till suddenly a clear slimy juice began to seep from it and into her palm; she continued to squeeze until her hand could hold no more. She dropped the used awapuhi into the river, and let the current take it down stream. She sighed in content as she began to rub the sweet smelling slime into her hair. She hummed as her nails massaged her scalp. After a good time of lathering she once again dunked her self underwater and rubbed at her head getting all of it out. She shot up once again and smiled as she ran her fingertips through her now clean hair. She sighed and began to walk towards the bank when suddenly she heard a noise

"this way Nǎinai! This way! I saw the water sprite over here!"Tenten gaped as she heard a little boy speak. She heard them come close and panicked as she searched for a place to hide herself. She suddenly caught an area concealed by brush. She quickly wadded over to the hiding spot and was able to hide herself just as she heard the boy run to the bank and yell "there! She's right..." he was silent for a moment. "She's gone.." Tenten quietly silently sighed relief. The water was colder in the area and slapped against her abdomen uncomfortably, but she was willing to put up with it than to be found. "Where did she go?"

She listened to them speak, she heard an old woman laugh " she must have gone back home Huiliang."

"but, but, I wanted you to see her!"

She hears the old woman chuckle again, "well how about we take a look around, and find this water sprite of yours, hm?"

"Really?!" Tenten almost choked 'please don't say yes, please don't say-'

"Yes."'No!' She flushed at the very thought of being found, and wanted nothing more than to strangle someone, preferably the little boy. So lost in her thoughts of how she would kill the child for putting her into this situation she hadn't taken notice of the person approaching her hiding spot. It wasn't till she heard the movement of foliage that she whipped her head around to stare at a small old woman starring down at her with wide eyes of surprise. Tenten was sure she was mirroring the exact same face, as she quickly used her arms to cover her breasts while a red blush covered her cheeks. The woman's expression softened as she continued to watch her. Tenten's blush, though, grew as suddenly the head of a little boy popped out from behind his grandmother.

He starred down at the nude girl with wide eyes before pointing and yelling "That's her Nǎinai! She's the water sprite I saw!" The woman merely chuckled as she quickly covered the boys eyes. He immediately began to struggle, "Nǎinai what are you doing?! I wanna see her!" The old woman ignored him as she looked behind her and called to someone by the name of Li.

Tenten watched a girl come up to the older woman, she appeared to be the same age as her. She was plump with a round face. Her cheeks were a bright red and her eyes were very squinted, she looked almost angry. As the old woman spoke to the young girl named Li her black eyes slid over and starred at Tenten. She squinted at the harsh look that this other strange girl was giving her. Tenten understood that she was in no way decent being completely naked in a brush, but it wasn't like she could help that! When the woman began to finish talking to her Li's eyes snapped back to her. The girl nodded and grabbed the fusing boys hand taking him back to, where Tenten guessed, home.

The old woman turned back to Tenten and smiled kindly. "Tell me dear, are your clothes near by?"

The flush from before colored Tenten's cheeks once again as she nodded vigorously. "Ye-yes, by that boulder" she motioned with her head "over there." The little woman nodded, and but a few seconds later she had returned with her bag and clothing in hand. Putting the objects down the woman pulled the towel from her shoulder and helped Tenten from the brush while quickly wrapping her in the towel.

Tenten bowed deeply to her. "Th-thank you very much for y-your help."

The woman chuckled as she waved Tenten off "oh don't be silly dear, i'm always happy to help, but here do dry off and dress yourself." The woman began to shove Tenten behind the boulder again, "my granduaghter is just finishing making supper and she's already making your bed for tonight."

At her words Tenten stumbled from behind the rock just as she was finishing binding her breasts. "Wh-what? Oh no, I-I could never impose on you all like that, you've already shown more kindness to me than was necessary..." She nervously played with her fingers as she chewed on her lip, this was exactly what she didn't want! For people to offer their kindness to her so easily when she could never repay it, oh she felt so guilty!

At the feel of cold hands on her stomach she suddenly gasped and found herself being pushed, once again, behind the rock. "Nonsense!" The old woman huffed, "you'll stay with us, at least for tonight." Tenten was given a determined look as the woman's hands were placed on her scrawny hips.

"bu-but...are you sure?"

the old woman smiled sweetly as she nodded, "of course."

Review Please!

Side Note:

hanashobo are iris' in Japanese, they usually bloom best in Tokyo in June.

Kawaii means cute in Japanese

Ja ne means see ya later in Japanese and is a very relaxed form of saying goodbye to close friends

awapuhi is a plant that is bright red and is actually a main component in a really expensive shampoo (i think) but it can be used as a shampoo or conditioner, and is known as shampoo ginger or the awapuhi flower.

Nǎinai is grandma in Chinese

Huiliang means kind and good in Chinese

Li means plum in Chinese

a sprite is another term for fairy

the towel the old woman had with her was really for her to wiep the sweat from her face since obviously its summer and its hot and she's old

Now the whole deal with Ino believing Shikamaru love's his cousin; For people to marry within the family like cousins marrying cousins wasn't very uncommon back in the day. It was seen as an efficient way for people of higher class to keep their family bloodlines "pure" kind of ridiculous really, but by the late 1800's this practice began to ware out and not be as common due to the fact that marrying relatives can lead to children being born with problems, most commonly mental retardation, autism, maybe even deformities. Really though Shikamaru and Temari aren't related cause remember she was adopted from France.