acclimation; 29.) redemption—
Standing in front of the memorial stone, Shikamaru looked up and took a drag of his cigarette. The smoke swirled upward to the darkened sky, and he sighed as he heard footsteps behind him.
"It's probably bad etiquette to confess to a girl when she's unconscious," Ino spoke from behind him.
"Probably," he agreed, not turning to face her.
She walked up beside him, eyeing the memorial stone with distaste. Her father's name was there, etched just beneath Shikaku's, and she placed a wrapped bouquet at the base. A bowl of rice sat neatly before the stone, looking suspiciously like it came from the Akimichi kitchen.
Ino turned to Shikamaru, and frowned at the cigarette dangling from his lips.
"What did I tell you?" she asked, staring pointedly at his mouth.
"That girls wouldn't want to k—" was all he could mutter around the cigarette before Ino reached over and plucked the offending item from his lips and reached a hand behind his neck to pull him down for a kiss.
It was sudden, and Shikamaru was hardly prepared, but a few seconds into the kiss and he was losing himself already. Her lips were soft, just like at age fourteen, and her gentle skin fell to his greedy hands as he pulled her close. He was just about to deepen the kiss when rationality hit, and he shoved her away as if he had been burned.
Ino stumbled back, startled. "Wha—"
"Don't do this," he answered her, his voiced strained. He swiped a hand over his mouth as if he could wipe away her influence on him. "Don't do this to me," he begged.
"And here I thought I was the one afraid of life," she retorted, stepping forward. He backed away, half of him wanting to run, the other half wanting nothing more than to smother her with nine years' worth of lost opportunities and kisses. "Ugh, you taste like an ashtray," she spoke, but grabbed his face in both hands and dragged him down for another kiss.
This time, he didn't shove her away.
Author Note: Now we're finally getting some good ShikaIno action. Sorry for not posting in the past two days, but the last two chapters will be posted in a few hours (after I write them).
Shout out to deathrosekitty for making my morning by leaving some thirty reviews in one day. It was a pleasant surprise.
Also, not quite sure if the Japanese leave food out at grave sites. I know some Asian cultures/religions do that at a personal/ancestral shrine, but probably not at cemeteries. I just wanted to throw something in for Chouza.
